The Book
by Komoki-Tsuno
Summary: Summary in 1st chapter. I'd really like to thank everyone who offered condolences and prayers, and I'd like to thank you in the best way I know how, so the story will continue...
1. Birthday Present

**Title: **The Book  
**Summary: **Yugi is a shy 11-year-old that has no friends and gets bullied daily. But one day, as a birthday present, Yugi is given a book containing the spirit of a 5,000-year-old pharaoh who communicates to him through the blank pages. Yugi is overjoyed to finally have a real friend, but will a friendship formed between a lonely boy and an ancient spirit turn out to be dangerous?  
**Warning: **Rated T for some violence, some language, and some death  
**Pairings: **none  
**Timeline: **AU present

* * *

Taku: What? A story with Yami/Yugi friendship and no Yaoi? Call Guinness.  
KT: Shut up.  
Juni: Anyway, welcome back to Maru-chan's west side stories.  
Taku: Was that supposed to be a catch phrase?  
KT: Shut up.  
Juni:This is space filler between now and when Maru-chan posts the sequel to The Forbidden Forest. So bear with her.Maru-chan does not own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its characters.  
Taku: This disclaimer stuff is rather needless, isn't it? I mean, why would Kazuki Takahashi be bothering with this website?  
KT: Shut up.

* * *

_Yugi thinking_

**Yugi writing**

_**Atemu writing

* * *

**_

1: Birthday Present

11-year-old Yugi Moto sat in class and tried not to think about the eyes on his back. _I wish I wasn't here, _he thought to himself. _I wish I was in sixth grade, like every normal eleven-year-old. Then maybe there wouldn't be all these teenagers staring at me. _It was true: Yugi had the gift of being unusually bright for his age, though he considered it more like a curse. He had just turned eleven, and he was already in the highschool freshman class. When he had first started school, he had been put in the first grade at four, almost five. Then, he had skipped fourth grade at eight. His parents were so proud of his achievements. But he wished that he were dumber.

Yugi couldn't remember the last grade he had been in where he had been beaten up and/or blackmailed by bullies in exchange for doing other people's homework. He didn't have any real friends, or even acquaintances. He just kind of floated through class each day, quietly getting nearly perfect scores on every quiz and test and trying to be invisible besides that. Sometimes he even tried to answer things incorrectly, just so his name wouldn't be at the top of the class grades list. But it never worked. He couldn't help but get the answers right. He _liked_ getting answers right.

Yugi's first week of school at Domino High was very frightening. It was bad enough that any average 11-year-old would be the shortest person in school, but Yugi had the misfortune of being short for his age, so he felt like a dwarf. The next shortest person he could find was still a whole head and a half taller than him. Yugi knew that when he became established as a smart person, the bullies would be after him, and because of his small size, he would be easy prey. He had only been able to identify three people on the freshman level who fit the "bully" description: this really tall guy whose name he hadn't been able to find out (since no one ever talked to him) and two guys named Joey and Tristan who seemed to hang out with each other. The Joey and Tristan guys didn't beat up people as much as simply picking on them, but the nameless bully guy--he did the whole deal.

Anyway, back to the class, Yugi knew that several people were looking at him. A few were looking out of pure curiosity, a common thing when there was anyone new. Some out of annoyance, like he shouldn't be there because he was so little, in more ways than one. And Yugi was pretty sure that Joey and Tristan were watching him and deciding when would be a good time to strike. One thing he had in his favor when it came to size was that he could get easily lost in a crowd. That, and the fact that he was a fast runner often got him out of sticky situations.

Yugi tried to tune out everyone but the teacher. It was kind of hard because he knew they were looking. Eventually he noticed out of the corner of his eye that some of the curious starers stopped looking after a while and went on about their business. And fortunately, so did some of the annoyed starers. But Joey and Tristan kept looking. He thought he heard them whispering between each other but couldn't tell what they were saying.

Finally the bell rang. Yugi gathered his stuff and was one of the first out the door. He glanced briefly behind him and saw Joey and Tristan watching him. He turned back around and disappeared in the crowd, hoping they weren't planning on following him or something. _Just one more period, _he thought, _and then I can go home.

* * *

_

"Next time try growing up before you come to highschool."

Yugi rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. He listened to the sound of the bully walking away. He had been attacked for no good reason, just because he was short and quiet. The bully had thought that maybe beating him up would get him to say something.

Slowly, painfully, Yugi rose to his feet. He had several sore places where he was pretty sure bruises would form. He touched his face gingerly where it hurt the most, and grimaced. That bruise would be hard to hide. He would have to think up a plausible excuse for how it got there. He ran ideas through his mind as he collected up his books and put them back in his backpack. Zipping it closed, didn't dare put it on his back but instead carried it in his hand.

Yugi started walking, and hissed when he felt a sharp pain stab at his ankle when he put weight on it. _Great_. Now he'd have to hide a limp too. The bullies in highschool seemed a lot more violent than the ones in middle school.

It was a ten-minute walk back to his house from the school yard, and Yugi took twenty trying to find a way to walk and hide his limp. Finally he made it home and opened the front door. He heard the sound of the TV on in the living room, and tried to pass by without being noticed.

He wasn't so lucky.

"Yugi?" His mom's head appeared up over the couch. He had gotten his short stature from her side of the family. She smiled. "Welcome home! Did you have a good day?"

Yugi shrugged, keeping the left side of his face turned away from her. "It was usual," he answered.

"That means no trouble, right?" his father asked from behind the newspaper.

"Yes sir," Yugi said.

"Well, go on upstairs and change. Your grandfather's coming over to visit for your birthday, and he has a present for you."

"Okay," Yugi said, and he turned and climbed the stairs. His birthday had actually been three days ago, but his grandfather owned a game shop and was a busy man. This was the first day he had been able to get free to come see Yugi.

Yugi made it up to his room and threw his backpack on his bed. He walked to his bathroom, which was connected to his room, to take a shower. Then he would bandage his injuries, change his clothes, and take some painkillers. That was his routine. He always hid his injuries from his parents because he didn't want them to know. He was ashamed at how much of a weakling he felt like.

* * *

After a shower, a clothing change, a bandaging session, and taking a few painkillers, Yugi made his way downstairs to find that his grandfather was just arriving. He stood quietly on the stairs as his parents opened the door and greeted Solomon Moto. 

"So," Solomon said after he had gotten in the door, "have you been treating my son well, Karen?"

Karen laughed. "Well, at least I think so," she said.

"Yeah, she does," Yugi's dad said with a grin. "Honey, you're poking me in the back with that gun."

They all laughed. Yugi felt out of place, just standing outside the circle of familiarity and warmth. It was just like at school. He felt like he didn't belong.

"That's a pretty big box, Dad," Yugi's mom said. "What's in it?"

"Oh, just a present for my grandson," Solomon answered. "Say, where is Yugi, anyway?"

Yugi's parents turned to look for him and saw him on the stairs, wearing a long sleeved blue shirt and jeans to hide his bandages. "Yugi, come say hello to your grandfather!"

Slowly, carefully hiding his limp, Yugi went the rest of the way down the stairs and joined the others in the living room. "Hi, Grandpa," he said, trying and failing to dredge up a smile.

"Well, hello, my boy," Solomon said. "How have you been?"

"Well," Yugi answered.

"Yugi! Where did you get that bruise?" Yugi's mom asked, suddenly noticing it.

"I hit myself in the face with my locker door," Yugi replied.

After the family expressed their concerns for his health, Yugi was able to discreetly steer the conversation to what Solomon had brought him.

Solomon put the box in his arms down on the coffee table. "I heard you like to write, is that so?"

Yugi shrugged, as if it didn't matter. It did though; he kept a journal and was currently working on three different stories, all about oppressed kids. Writing, he felt, was what kept him together. "I guess so," he said.

"Well," Solomon said, pushing the box across the table towards him, "I got this from one of my expeditions to Egypt last year. I thought you might like it."

Yugi reached for the box, actually curious. He lifted the top off and looked in. Resting in a giant pile of packing peanuts was what looked like a black book. He reached into the pile of packing peanuts and pulled it out.

"Oh, Dad, that's beautiful," Yugi's mom said.

"Where in the world did you get it?" Yugi's dad asked.

Yugi looked down at the book in his hands. It was about the size of an average hardcover book. The front and back cover were solid black. There was an eye embossed on the front in gold, and gold triangles decorated the four corners of the front. Thin gold veins led from the eye and spread all over the front. Yugi opened the book and flipped through its pages. They were all blank, and only slightly yellow. "Wow," Yugi found himself saying. He was impressed. The book was beautiful, like his mom had said.

"This was found in the tomb of a pharaoh who lived 5,000 years ago," Solomon said. "Somehow the book was kept in almost new condition, as you can see. Since it was blank, they let me have it. Now I'm letting you have it to write in."

"Really?" Yugi said, still flipping pages. He looked up at Solomon, a genuine smile on his face. "Thanks, Grandpa."

"It's nothing at all, my boy," Solomon answered easily.

After that, Solomon and Yugi's parents fell to talking about the boring things that adults find interesting for some reason. Yugi went upstairs and sat crosslegged on his bed, looking down at the book in his lap. _This is a really pretty book, _he thought. _I'll have to save it for something special._

After a moment's thought, Yugi reached underneath his pillow to find one of the sixty-four pens floating around in his room. He needed to see what kind and color of ink would look best on the pages of his new book.

Locating about three or four pens underneath his pillow, Yugi picked one at random and pulled it out. It was a blue pen. _Blue ink should work. _Yugi opened the book to the first page and considered what to write as a test. Finally he bent over the book and wrote on the top of the first page.

**My name is Yugi Moto.**

Yugi inspected the ink. It looked pretty good on the paper. Yugi obsessed about things like that. He wondered briefly how one of his other pens' ink might look, but then decided to keep this one. He grabbed the side of the page and was about to tear it out and start fresh, when, all of a sudden, words appeared under his.

"What the...?" Yugi exclaimed, staring. When he read the words, his eyes got even bigger.

**_Hello, Yugi Moto. My name is Atemu.

* * *

_**

KT: And that's the first chapter.  
Juni: You ended the first chapter on a cliffhangle?  
KT: Cliff_hanger_, Jun-kun.  
Taku: I still can't believe there's no Yaoi.  
KT: Shut up.


	2. A New Friend

Juni: I think they liked it.  
KT: Great.  
Taku: I really don't see why.  
KT: Shut up. Anyway, thanks to **Amaranth, MikosWish, Jee Hye, Yami Neferbre, moonlit-leaf, cheeky-eyes, Atemu's Lover, Atemu Yugi Lover34, dogangeslrule, dragonlady222, Pharaohyamifan, Heart ofEbony, Masami Mistress Of Fire, DarkCrimsonFlame3, **and **kingleby **for reviewing.  
Juni: You know, a lot of people said that this reminded them of some scene in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets...  
KT: I noticed. Well, they're all right to a degree. I was at my mom's house the other day, and my little brother was watching that movie over and over and over, and it drove me nuts so I threw him out a window. Hmm. I never made the connection.  
Juni: Is your brother okay? (sees look on KT's face) Or do you not care?  
Taku: And here's the chapter.

* * *

Previously... 

After a moment's thought, Yugi reached underneath his pillow to find one of the sixty-four pens floating around in his room. He needed to see what kind and color of ink would look best on the pages of his new book.

Locating about three or four pens underneath his pillow, Yugi picked one at random and pulled it out. It was a blue pen. Blue ink should work. Yugi opened the book to the first page and considered what to write as a test. Finally he bent over the book and wrote on the top of the first page.

**My name is Yugi Moto.**

Yugi inspected the ink. It looked pretty good on the paper. Yugi obsessed about things like that. He wondered briefly how one of his other pens' ink might look, but then decided to keep this one. He grabbed the side of the page and was about to tear it out and start fresh, when, all of a sudden, words appeared under his.

"What the...?" Yugi exclaimed, staring. When he read the words, his eyes got even bigger.

**_Hello, Yugi Moto. My name is Atemu.

* * *

_**

2: A New Friend

Yugi stared at the page, disbelieving what he was seeing. _Did someone...just answer what I wrote in there? _he thought wildly. _That's impossible. This is a book, which equals inanimate object, and inanimate objects don't talk! _Nevertheless, the words were there, so Yugi sighed and decided to test it out.

**Did you just say something to me?**

Yugi wrote it under the mysterious words. He sat there and stared at the page.

Nothing.

"I knew it," Yugi said aloud. "Maybe I'm just dreaming, or I wrote that and forgot. I must be going crazy. That or I'm taking too many painkillers."

He looked down at the three sentences on the page. Then, amazingly, a fourth one showed up, underneath his question.

**_Yes I did. Who else might I be talking to?_**

Yugi thought that there was something wrong with him. Dropping the book on his bed, he ran into his bathroom and checked the label on his bottle of painkillers. He was kind of hoping that there would be something saying _hallucinations are a side effect_. But there was no such sentence anywhere on the bottle. He sighed and went back out to his bed, painkillers still in hand. He sat crosslegged on his bed again and settled the book back in his lap.

"What is up with you?" Yugi wondered aloud. He considered. His grandpa had said that this book was found in the tomb of a pharaoh that lived five millenniums ago, right? So that gave it the right to talk to him? Yugi sighed and rubbed his temples. "Well, what else can I do but say something back, right?" he reasoned. "I mean, it's only fair to the book, or..." he sighed again.

**Well, I'm just not used to carrying on conversations with a book.**

**_A plausible thing. To tell you the truth, I don't carry on conversations with books either. I just happen to be in one._**

**Be in one? What are you talking about?**

**_Well, Yugi Moto,_**

**Just call me Yugi.**

**_--All right, then, Yugi, it's quite a long story actually._**

**It's only 7:23. I've got plenty of time.**

**_I'm sure you do. By the way, how old are you and how did you come to acquire this book?_**

**I'm 11, and my grandfather gave it to me as a late birthday present. Why?**

**_Curious. Is your grandfather an archaeologist?_**

**No, he just hangs out with them.**

**_I see. So apparently my tomb has been uncovered._**

**What? YOUR tomb? Okay, let's get one thing straight. Exactly who are you?**

**_Well, like I told you earlier, my name is Atemu. I'm a pharaoh from Egypt._**

**Wow. So, you're 5,000 years old then, right? Are you some decrepit old man?**

**_5,000 years. That's quite a long time to be trapped in a book. And no, I don't believe I'm decrepit. The last time I checked I was just getting into adulthood._**

**How in the world did you pass the time?**

**_I didn't. Time has no meaning inside a book, Yugi. If you hadn't told me I was 5,000 years old, I could--and would--have believed I've only been in here for six minutes._**

**So, you've just been lying around, what, existing? Can you even see or hear anything?**

**_I'm in a book. Books can't see or hear, and neither can I._**

**Then how do you know what I'm writing?**

**_I sense the words._**

**That sounds really weird.**

**_Perhaps to you, because you have eyes and ears that work. I, however, have been doing nothing but sensing for 5,000 years, even if it only seemed like six minutes. I've gotten used to it._**

**Oh. Were you **Yugi paused here, unsure of if he wanted to pry into Atemu's personal affairs. **lonely?**

**_Yes I was._**

**I know how that is. I'm always lonely.**

**_And why is that, Yugi? Don't you have friends?_**

**Ha! Friends. I'm just lucky my parents love me, because nobody else does, that's for sure.**

**_That's not natural. Why does no one besides your parents love you?_**

**Because I'm an outcast. I don't fit in. I'm short, and I'm quiet, and I'm too smart for my own good. All apparently great reasons to be picked on and beaten up.**

**_That isn't fair._**

**Life's not fair.**

**_That's too unfair. Even if life is unfair, it's never that unfair. You don't deserve that._**

Yugi felt tears threatening. He already knew that, but he never questioned the way things went. He just focused on getting away from the bullies. And when he didn't, hiding the evidence from his parents. He never stopped to raise a fist in protest or anything.

**Well, maybe I don't deserve it, but I get it anyway.**

**_If your parents love you, why do they not do something about it?_**

**They don't know.**

**_So you hide it from them._**

**Yeah.**

**_Do you tell anyone?_**

**No. I don't trust anyone.**

Nothing came after that. Yugi took it as a chance to drop his pen and wipe the tears before they spilled. He sniffed and then looked down at the book. Atemu had answered.

**_You can trust me._**

Yugi read the words over and over. No one had ever said that to him.

**I guess I don't have to worry about you running off and telling someone, do I? After all, you ARE stuck in a book. But I barely know you.**

**_We can fix that._**

Yugi felt a smile creep over his face. **Yeah, you're right. We can fix that.**

**

* * *

**

Juni: So now begins the friendship?  
KT: Now begins the friendship.  
Taku: (is shaking head) I can't wait to see this.


	3. Math Tutor

Juni: Welcome back.  
KT: I'd like to thank **Yami Nefebre, DarkCrimsonFlame3, pookysnack'n'burger, dragonlady222, The White Wolf, moonlit-leaf, ****Masami Mistress Of Fire, frogger666, MikosWish, YamiXYugi-yaoilover2899, yamisgirl13, Zeo-Hunnoru, Atemu Yugi Lover34, kingleby, Pharaohyamifan, Yume Ishimaru, cheeky-eyes, **and **Anime WarriorSkye **for reviewing. I really appreciate the amount of support this story is getting. It makes me giddy.  
Taku: I'm still amazed at this...this "no Yaoi" thing.  
KT: Shut up.

* * *

3: Math Tutor 

"Yugi! You'd better go ahead and wake up if you don't want to be late for school!"

Yugi groaned and rolled over. He winced as his back hit something hard. He fumbled behind himself, trying to grab the item so he could fling it across the room. His hand came in contact with the spine of a book, and he pulled it in front of his half-lidded eyes to see what it was.

It was the book he got for his birthday. As if on cue, memories of the long conversation he had had with Atemu last night came flooding back. He opened the book and flipped the pages, marveling at how many were filled with writing. They had used up _twenty_ pages!

The twenty pages had gone to good use, though. Yugi and Atemu had told each other all about themselves. Atemu had been a pharaoh in Ancient Egypt. He had been trapped in the book by a treacherous advisor who was seeking power. A curse had been placed upon him that had bound him inside the book for apparently forever. He guessed that the spellcasters under his command had tried and failed to break the spell. He didn't know for sure, because the only way to communicate with him was to write in the book, and no one had done that.

In return, Yugi had told Atemu about his life. He could barely keep the bitterness out of his writing as he explained how he was intelligent for his age, which caused him to start school early _and_ skip a grade, which made him the target of beatings and bullyings. Atemu even coerced the truth, about why he didn't let his parents know what went on at school, out of him. Yugi felt like he had connected with Atemu like he hadn't with anyone else before.

Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, or at least trying to, Yugi sat up in bed. The painkillers had worn off, and most of his body felt stiff and twinged with pain. He was used to the painkillers wearing off in the middle of the night, and then the pain woke him up. But tonight that hadn't happened. _What a relief,_ Yugi thought. He swung his legs out of bed, accidentally hitting the book in the process and knocking it on the floor.

"Whoops," Yugi said, reaching down to pick it up. "I don't think treatment like that is how the book stayed in such good condition for 5,000 years!" He flipped it over in his lap, and blinked when he saw what looked like something red in the back of the book. Curious, he flipped all the pages until he could see the back cover.

_Only when the collected sorrow  
__Of the one who cares  
__And who is cared for  
__Is given to the written conveyor  
__Will the long awaiting spirit be released  
__And returned to natural form  
__And at the cost of one  
__Shall the other go on_

Yugi stared at the words. What could they mean? They were written in red on the inside of the back cover of the book. He looked at them curiously, and ran a finger over the words. _What is that supposed to mean? _he thought.

"Yugi? Do I need to come up there and get you?"

"No, ma'am!" Yugi yelled out his door. He closed the book and shoved it under his pillow. He'd ask Atemu about the words later.

* * *

"Yugi, if you wouldn't mind, could you stay behind for a moment?" 

Yugi glanced uncertainly up at the math teacher, Miss Mai. The other kids in the class all collected up their stuff and left, making plenty of noise while they were at it. "What is it, Miss Mai?" he asked.

Miss Mai walked around to the front of her desk and leaned against it, using her hands to support herself. Tall, blonde, and beautiful, Miss Mai was the favorite teacher at Domino High. Not only did she somehow keep math from being the usual borefest, she was major eye candy for every male in her class. Even some of male teachers watched her whenever she walked down the hall. "Well, Yugi, I've noticed that you're the best student in math, as well as just about every other subject, and I need a favor from you."

"Um, okay," Yugi said uncertainly, curling his fingers around a pencil lying on his desk.

Miss Mai ran her fingers through her silky blond hair. "I have a student who happens to be struggling enormously with math. He has a D average in class. I figure you could help him out, maybe make it easier for him to understand what he's dealing with."

All the color drained from Yugi's face. "You mean, be a tutor?" he asked with rising dread. Yet another reason to be picked on. _Squirt, what are you doing tutoring someone three years older than you?_

Miss Mai nodded. "Yes. A tutor. Joey really needs help."

"Joey as in Joey Wheeler?" Yugi questioned, feeling even worse.

"That's right," Miss Mai said. "I arranged for him to come to my office after the last period, and I'd like you to as well, so the both of you can plan times for tutoring. Okay?"

Yugi swallowed hard and nodded. "Okay," he said, collecting up his books. He left with as brave a face as he could muster, when in actuality he wanted to burst into tears. Life was so unfair.

* * *

Yugi didn't look up when he heard the door open. He was trying his hardest not to scream and run from the room. He did not want to do this. 

"Glad you could make it, Joey," Miss Mai said. "Have a seat next to Yugi."

Joey Wheeler sat in the desk beside Yugi. Yugi finally mustered up the courage to look up and looked at Joey. The fourteen-year-old was slumped in his chair, brown eyes faced front, an unhappy pout in place._ He doesn't want to do this either,_ Yugi noticed.

"Joey, this is Yugi Moto, your tutor," Miss Mai said. "Yugi, this Joey Wheeler, your prisoner."

Joey finally turned to look at Yugi. Yugi held the gaze and didn't look away. Lazily Joey extended a hand, and Yugi shook it.

"You two will be meeting sometime after school until Joey gets a better grip on math," Miss Mai went on. "Yugi, I'd like progress reports from you both at the end of each week. Let's see if we can raise that average to a C, eh, Joey?"

Joey shrugged.

"Now I'll leave you to plan out your schedule," Miss Mai said, and she left the room. Yugi and Joey stared at each other, each one daring the other to talk. Yugi was better at holding his tongue, though.

"I don't got a problem with sessions right afta school," Joey finally said. "Dat okay?"

Yugi nodded. "That's fine. So, um...what areas in math do you have a problem with?"

"Try da whole damn thing," Joey grumbled, slumping down farther in his seat.

"Well, you know how to do addition, right?"

"Yeah."

"Subtraction?"

"Yeah."

"Multiplication?"

"Yeah."

"Division?"

"Yeah."

"Then it's not the whole thing," Yugi pointed out. "In fact, that's almost entirely what math is about--adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing numbers."

Joey grunted. "Yeah, well, they musta changed somethin' later on, othawise I wouldn' be havin' a problem, would I?"

"Math principles don't change," Yugi said.

Joey snorted.

"What's one plus one?"

Joey gave him an incredulous look. "Are you kiddin' me?"

Yugi didn't look away. "Well? Do you know the answer or not?"

Grumbling, Joey slumped even further in his seat. A little more and his butt would be in China. "Two," he grumbled.

"Two plus two?"

"Four."

"Four times two?"

"Eight."

"Eight plus eight?"

"Sixteen."

"Sixteen times two?"

"Thirty-two."

"Thirty-two plus thirty-two?"

"Sixty four."

"Sixty four times two?"

"Uhhh...one hundred eight."

"One hundred _twenty_-eight."

"Whateva."

"One hundred twenty-eight times two?"

"Ummm...gimme a sec..."

"Two hundred fifty-six."

"Oh."

"Two hundred fifty-six times two is five hundred twelve, and five hundred twelve plus five hunded twelve is one thousand twenty-four, and so on."

"Oh. Yeah."

"Did the principles change?"

Joey glanced at Yugi, as if expecting a trick question. "I guess not," he answered finally.

"No they didn't. The numbers just got bigger. That's how it is with math. The principles stay the same; the numbers just start getting bigger or more complicated. Once you figure that out, it's a lot easier to do math."

"Huh," Joey said as response. He glanced at Yugi. "Yer pretty smart, kid."

"That's why I'm in highschool at eleven," Yugi answered.

Joey leaned forward and sighed, sitting up a little. "So what? Yer jus' gonna show me how dumb I am and how easy it is?"

"No," Yugi said. "That's not what tutors do. I'm going to make it easier for you, that's all. Math isn't easy for a lot of people, you know."

"I know," Joey said. " 'Mos' people struggle wit' math.' I've a'ready heard dis speech. I even got it on tape."

"Well, if you never listened, what does it matter how many times you heard it?"

Silence. Joey shrugged.

"Right," Yugi said. "How about Tuesdays and Thursdays after school, and Saturday afternoons we have our tutoring sessions."

"School on a Saturday?" Joey exclaimed in disbelief.

Yugi shrugged. "Friday then."

Joey sighed. "Okay, dat's fine. My house or yours?"

"Mine I guess." Yugi wrote his address on a sheet of notebook paper and gave it to Joey, who took it and looked at it. He got up from his seat and headed to the door. "Not how I wanted to spend after school hours," he was saying to himself.

Yugi watched him go, relieved that it went better than he had thought it would.

* * *

Yugi sighed as he entered his room. He closed the door behind himself and threw his backpack into the corner. He flopped on his bed and kicked off his sneakers. He had escaped any beatings today. But he had still been teased. One particularly mean girl had walked up to him and said, "Hey, Short Stuff! Did your mommy have to walk you to school?" Then she made a few other little kid jokes as her gal pals laughed. Yugi, as usual, took it all silently, with an unreadable expression, and walked off when she was done. 

"That kid's weird," he heard one girl say behind him.

Now Yugi laid silently on his side, listening to the muffled sounds downstairs. He laid there for a few moments, and then sat up. Something to his left caught his eye, and he noticed that the book was open, turned to a new page.

**_How was school today?_**

Yugi frowned. He could have sworn that when he left, he left the book closed and underneath his pillow. But maybe he hadn't. He grabbed a pen near his foot and picked up the book.

**All right, I guess.**

**_What happened?_**

**I have to tutor Joey Wheeler in math. Remember I told you about him?**

**_Ah, yes, one of your bullies. Did he hurt you?_**

**No. All things considered, he was rather friendly. He wasn't acting like he wanted to be my pal, but he wasn't making fun of me. Unlike those girls.**

**_What girls?_**

**This group of girls came up to me after school, and one of them made some really mean remarks about my height and my age. **Yugi stopped to rub the back of his hand across his eyes. **Those kids are so mean; you'd think that after a while they'd get tired of picking on the weak and defenseless.**

**_Unfortunately, oppressors are time immortal._**

**Don't I know it. I can't remember a grade where I wasn't picked on because of my height or because I was younger than everybody. **Yugi sighed and fanned a few pages out of boredom. Then, suddenly, the strange words in the back of the book came back to him.

_Oh, yeah, I wanted to ask Atemu about them, _Yugi remembered. He returned to the page they had been on.

**Hey, Atemu, I found some weird words written in red in the back of this book.**

**_Did you? What did they say?_**

**It said, "Only when the collected sorrow of the one who cares and who is cared for is given to the written conveyor will the long awaiting spirit be released and returned to natural form and at the cost of one shall the other go on". I think that was it. Do you know what it means?**

**_Hmmm. _**Atemu said nothing for a few moments. **_I have no idea what they could mean. They seem to be symbolic of some way to release something._**

**Yeah. What's a "written conveyor" anyway?**

**_Well, convey is another way to say putting things into or expressing things in words. So, a written conveyor might be..._**

**You're just as lost as I am.**

**_Yes I am._**

Yugi laughed. **And what is "collected sorrow"? What's THAT supposed to mean?**

**_It's something to think about. Those words you told me, they sound almost like poetry._**

**But they don't rhyme.**

**_Poetry doesn't always have to rhyme._**

**Maybe that collected sorrow stuff means when you're in a bad mood.**

**_That doesn't sound like poetry._**

Yugi laughed again. **Very funny. I gotta go. I'm starving and I need to eat something.**

**_All right, then. Happy eating._**

Yugi closed the book and stuffed it under his pillow, making sure to watch what he did with it. He then left his room and walked down the stairs. It didn't even occur to him that his limp was gone; he wasn't paying that much attention.

"...All I'm saying is that I'm worried about what goes on at school that Yugi doesn't tell us."

Yugi stopped on the last stair. That was his mother.

"I know you are, dear, but I think you're worrying too much," Yugi's dad replied. "The bruise was probably nothing."

"I don't think so!" Karen exclaimed. "I was bullied when I was a little girl, and I'd been beaten up enough to know what a fist-shaped bruise looks like!"

"But why would he hide the fact that he's being bullied?"

"Oh, I don't know." Yugi's mom sounded frustrated. "All I know is, I think maybe it would be better if we had him elaborate on what goes on at school, and maybe let him know he can talk to us about anything. Goodness knows I want to talk to one of his teachers."

Yugi's fist clenched. If they talked to a teacher, they might find out what was going on at school. Then they would want to know why Yugi never told them. He could never tell them he was ashamed at his weakness. Somehow he'd have to dispel their fears.

"Yugi? Is that you?" Karen's head appeared out of the living room just as Yugi was heading into the kitchen. "I'm glad I caught you dear. If I could just take a look at that bruise..."

Reluctantly, Yugi turned the bruised side of his face to his mother. She suddenly looked surprised. "Oh...it's gone? I don't believe it. I thought bruises like th...lasted longer."

_It's gone? _Yugi was surprised. Then he suddenly realized that he wasn't in any pain at all, and he had been walking without a limp for a while. _All my injuries are gone...but how? They should have lasted for at least another week._

"Well, good. Were you going to get something to eat?" Yugi's mom was smiling now, but her eyes still held concern.

Yugi nodded.

"Oh, don't worry. I'll fix you something. What do you have a taste for?" Suddenly Yugi's mom was all smiles again.

* * *

Juni: Disappearing injuries? Sounds like a mystery to me.  
KT: Indeed.  
Taku: No Yaoi. (snorts) Wonders will never cease.  
KT: Hey, Taku.  
Taku: What?  
KT: Shut up. 


	4. Another New Friend

KT: Welcome back. I'd like to thank **Zoe, dragonlady222, Masami Mistress Of Fire, unseenwater, Anime WarriorSkye, cheeky-eyes, HOPPY-SAN2345, MikosWish, Goddess Of Pain and Suffering, Cherry Romancer, Atemu Yugi Lover34, moonlit-leaf, kingleby, Yura Dark Angel of Death, Coolgirlmch, Yami Nefebre, **and **yamisgirl13 **for reviewing. I apologize for the wait, but I have been on bedrest for a while. A few complications with the pregnancy, but nothing too serious.  
Juni: And on to the chapter.

* * *

4: Another New Friend 

"_Oh, don't tell me you're going to miss cheer practice."_

"I'm afraid so." Tea Gardner swiveled around in her desk chair, the cordless phone glued to her ear. "I can't risk spreading a cold around the girls."

Across the line, Serenity Wheeler sighed. _"I'm gonna miss you there," _she said. _"How many days of school do you think you'll skip?"_

"Probably just two or three," Tea estimated. "Hang on." She pulled the phone away from her ear and sneezed into her waiting tissue. "Okay, I'm back," she said, putting the phone back to her ear.

_"I heard that sneeze, and I pulled the phone away from my ear," _Serenity commented with a laugh.

"Very funny, Serenity," Tea said. "Hey, maybe we could call Amy on three-way."

_"Nah. I talked to her earlier, and she's going to the mall," _Serenity answered. _"Speaking of Amy, what did you think of that kid she cracked on at school today?"_

"The short one with the funky do?" Tea asked. "He was weird, like Shannon said."

_"Yeah," _Serenity said. _"Did you know he's going to tutor my brother? I heard Joey talking about it to himself during a commercial on TV."_

"Really?" Tea said, surprised. "I guess he is a really smart kid. How old is he, anyway?"

_"I think he's, like, eight or something. I don't know. Oh, darn, I gotta go, Tea. My mom needs to use the phone."_

"Too bad," Tea said. "Call me tomorrow after school, okay?"

_"You got it. Bye, Tea."_

"Bye, Serenity."

* * *

_**So, did you give any more thought to that poem in the back?**_

**No, not really. I've been a little preoccupied with things.**

**_Something bad?_**

**I guess not. Joey's a lot smarter in math than he gives himself credit for. He just doesn't like all the hard work. I basically have to take him step by step through each problem.**

**_Is he mean to you?_**

**Actually, it's kind of the opposite. Joey's a little nicer every session. And I met his sister Serenity yesterday when she came back from the mall. She was one of those girls in the group that teased me.**

**_Did she tease you again?_**

**No, she didn't say much, just ran upstairs. Atemu, there's something I've been thinking about.**

**_Tell me._**

**What happens when we run out of pages?**

There was a long pause without any answer. Yugi bit his lip and looked down at the page. Was Atemu afraid to answer? Was the answer that bad?

**_...Well, Yugi, I had hoped we'd never have to cover this, but I should have known you'd ask sooner or later._**

**What is it?**

**_Once we fill up the last page, Yugi, I believe I will cease to exist._**

Yugi nearly dropped his pen. He stared at the page in shock. Cease to exist? Why? What would happen to Atemu that would cause him to cease to exist when the pages were full of writing?

**But why?**

**_It's a part of the spell that the one who wanted to overthrow me used. My guess is he was planning to fill up all the pages with nonsense, and then cause me to cease to exist, but somehow he lost the book or got it taken away from him._**

**Is there anything I can do?**

**_I guess there's nothing you can do. All we can do is enjoy the time we do have together._**

**But I have no other friends! **Yugi could feel his eyes filling with tears. He wiped them away so they wouldn't spill on the page. **What will I do without you?**

**_You will learn to live. You cannot go on with your only friend being a pharaoh trapped in a book, Yugi. You must spread your wings and fly, because we both know I won't be here forever._**

**I guess you're right. At least we still have a ton of pages left.**

**_Yes. And we will enjoy those pages. And when I am gone, I am certain the book will remain as a memory of our friendship._**

**Okay.**

**_Let's move on to a better subject. Could you tell me more about this "computer" we were talking about last time?_**

Yugi managed a smile. **Sure thing.

* * *

**

"...Okay, so if dis goes like dis, den..."

Yugi sat patiently. "What's the answer?"

"Gimme a sec..." Joey's tongue stuck out slightly as he bent over his work, figuring math in his head and on the paper. "Okay." He sat up. "Da final answer is...xy squared over seven?" He ducked as if expecting Yugi to throw a book at him if he were wrong.

"That's right!" Yugi exclaimed. "You got them all right on your first try today!"

"I did?" Joey stared at the paper. "I did! No way!" He leaped from his seat and did a victory dance around the table. "Yeah! Woohoo! Go Joey, go Joey, yer a genius, yer a genius!" He grabbed Yugi up out of his seat and spun the younger boy around in a circle. "I'm a genius, yo! I'm a genius!"

Yugi was surprised to find himself laughing at Joey's happiness. "Yes! You're a genius! Put me down!"

Joey finally released Yugi and plunked down in his chair, worn out from his dance. "I don't believe it. I actually got it right! I was sure I'd messed somethin' up!"

"Well, you didn't," Yugi said. "See? I told you that you had a great capability for math. You just needed to believe in yourself."

"I guess yer right, Yugi," Joey said. He looked across the table at Yugi. "Ya know, you ain't weird like people're always sayin' at school. You're a pretty decent kid, jus' kinda shy."

Yugi's heart leaped. "You think so?" he asked.

"Yeah, Yugi," Joey said. "Look, there's somethin' I been wantin t' say for a little while, but I wasn't shure how t' say it." He leaned forward on his elbows. "Listen, Yugi. I'm sorry about da way I used t' treat ya at school. Dat was real messed up. Ya don't deserve it at all."

Yugi was shocked. "You mean it?" he said in disbelief.

Joey nodded. "From now on, I wanna be yer pal, I mean, friend. You deserve friends jus' like any otha guy. Jus' 'cause yer younger and shorter, and smarter than most of us, don't mean we should treat ya so mean. Will ya accept my apology?"

"Of...Of course I will," Yugi said, overwhelmed. "You...really want to be my friend?"

"Yeah," Joey said. "I think you'd be a betta friend than most of da guys in our school. Dat is, if ya want me as a friend."

"Yes!" Yugi exclaimed. He felt a happiness inside of him like he had never felt before. _A real friend? A real, true friend?_

"Here." Joey extended a hand. "Let's shake on it, so if I eva go back on my word for some stupid reason, you can remind me o' dis."

Yugi reached across the table and shook Joey's hand.

* * *

A locker slammed. Yugi winced, and turned to see what was happening. 

"Hey Short Stuff," the girl said. She was leaning on the locker next to his, smiling cruelly. The rest of her group was standing nearby. "Is it me, or did you grow three inches shorter over the weekend?"

Most of the girls giggled. Yugi noticed that one, a girl with chin-length brown hair in a sharp cut and blue eyes, was simply standing there with a straight face. Yugi, of course, kept his face unreadable and said nothing.

"Seriously," the girl went on, tossing some of her long blond hair out of her face, "why are you even in high school? You need to get back to kindergarten where you belong."

The girls, except the blue-eyed one, giggled again. Yugi said nothing and simply put some books back in his locker.

The giggles died away. Yugi glanced at the blond who was making the remarks, and saw she had a confused look on her face. _Good. _So his plan had worked.

"Hey, kid," the girl said, "why don't you ever say _anything_? What are you, deaf?"

There were a few less giggles this time. Yugi said nothing and simply stared at her. Even though she was a head and a half taller than he, he managed to stare her down. The girl fidgeted for a few seconds, and then turned. "You damn freak," she muttered. "Let's go, girls."

Comments like "He's so weird" and "Why doesn't he say anything back?" floated back to Yugi as the girls walked away. The blue-eyed girl hesitated, looking after the others, and then, seeming to make up her mind, turned and walked back to Yugi.

"Are you faking, or did those comments really not get to you?" she asked.

Yugi didn't answer.

"Listen. I'm sorry about what Amy said to you," the blue-eyed girl said. "I should have stopped her from saying those things. I just want to make sure she didn't really hurt you."

"No," Yugi finally said. "I'm used to those kinds of comments."

"Okay," the blue-eyed girl said. "Listen, I gotta go, but I just wanted to make sure." She looked embarrassed. "Well, bye." She turned and walked down the hall.

Yugi watched her go.

* * *

_**Those are indeed interesting occurrences.**_

**I know. The strange thing is that they both happened in the same week.**

**_At least you have a new friend now, Yugi. I'm happy for you._**

**I'm happy too. But nobody could ever take your place, Atemu.**

**_You think so? _**Yugi had the notion that Atemu was pleased at this. **_I appreciate that, Yugi. Your friendship means very much to me as well._**

Yugi found himself smiling again. He had two new friends, and a possible potential friend in that blue-eyed girl. He had never felt so truly happy in his life, as far as he knew. Perhaps things in his life would begin to look up for once.

**Atemu, I feel happy.**

**_What do you mean?_**

**I feel like my life is actually becoming worth living. I feel like things are changing for the better now.**

**_I'm glad you feel that way, Yugi. I'm sure you like it better when you're happy._**

**I do. It seems like things have turned up since I met you, like somehow you had something to do with it.**

**_Now how could that be? I'm in a book._**

Yugi had the distinct feeling that Atemu was laughing at him.

* * *

Juni: I hate to sound like Taku, Maru-chan, but I didn't know you had the capacity for real fluff.  
KT: Yep.  
Taku: (has finally shut up) 


	5. A Little Magic

KT: Hi, everyone. I'm sorry for the delay, but in case you didn't read my excuse in my bio, I've had my baby. Her name is Andira, and she's about three months old now. I haven't been to write much lately because I've been taking care of her, but I just finishied this chapter yesterday and wanted to cut you guys a break. Also, if you didn't notice, Dark World is gone, and I'm pissed. But anyway. Let's get to the chapter, shall we?

(Thanks are at the bottom.)

* * *

**5: A Little Magic**

Yugi winced involuntarily as a shadow fell over him.

"Hey runt, you're still here? I would have thought for sure they'd ship you back to daycare." The guy was leaning over him. Yugi said nothing and refused to look at him.

"Look, shrimp, it's about time you learned respect for people in the double digits," the guy said.

Yugi still said nothing. He hoped he wasn't about to be beaten up.

Suddenly, another shadow fell over Yugi. "Hey pal," Joey's threatening voice came from Yugi's right, "you gotta problem wit' my buddy hea? 'Cause if ya do, I got no problem takin' you outside and servin' you up a heapin' helpin' o' beatdown."

One of the shadows backed away. "Look, there's no problem," the guy said uneasily. "Just, you know, looking after him. There's a lot of bullies in this school."

"Well, _I'll _be doin' the lookin' afta Yugi," Joey said. "You get yer sorry ass outta hea."

The guy left. Yugi looked up to see Joey glaring after the guy. "Thanks, Joey," Yugi said sincerely.

Joey smiled at him. "No biggie, Yug," he said. "If dose jerks won't leave ya alone, then I'll make 'em." The bell rang just then. "C'mon," Joey went on. "We don't wanna be late fer class."

"_You_ don't want to be late for _math_ class?" Yugi said in disbelief as they went down the hall.

"Yeah. _Now_," Joey replied with a grin.

Miss Mai waited until everyone else had taken their quizzes and left to signal Joey and Yugi to her desk. "Well, you two, from the progress reports, it seems things have been going well," she said.

"Yeah, things've gone great," Joey piped up.

Miss Mai smiled. "Well, Yugi, you got another stellar A," she said, hanging Yugi his quiz. A red 96 was written in the top right corner. Yugi felt satisfied, like he did after every quiz he got. "But Joey..." She sighed and shook her head.

Yugi and Joey both looked worried. "Did I fail again?" Joey asked sadly.

Wordlessly, Miss Mai handed him the test. Joey grabbed it and looked for the grade anxiously. He stared at the paper.

"What's your score?" Yugi asked, peering over Joey's arm. A red 79 stared back at him.

"I got me a C!" Joey whooped, flinging the paper into the air. "Yeah! Woohoo! Go Joey, go Joey, yer a genius, yer a genius!" He started doing another victory dance.

"Congratulations," Miss Mai said. "A few more grades like these, and you won't be needing a tutor."

Joey was too busy victory dancing to respond.

* * *

Yugi stuffed all his books in his locker except for the ones he'd need to complete his homework. The last bell had rung. He hoped to run into Joey to say goodbye before heading home.

"Hey, Yugi, right?"

Yugi looked up and saw the blue-eyed girl standing near him, looking nervous. "Yeah, that's me," he said.

"I heard that you were really smart," the girl said, trying to act casual.

"I guess so," Yugi responded.

The girl nodded, as if to herself. "Yeah, well, umm...could you help me?" She awkwardly shifted her pile of books to one arm and opened her notebook. "I know it's kind of abrupt, but I'm having this big problem. It's these stupid equation Miss Mai assigned for homework, and I don't even understand them! A lot of the kids in my class are having the same problem. See?" She shoved the book into Yugi's face.

Yugi moved the book farther back so he could actually read it. He glanced at the first problem on the page. "The answer to that one is -11x," he stated matter-of-factly after only a few moments of looking at it.

"How did you do that?" the girl exclaimed.

Yugi shrugged. "I've seen a lot of these kinds of equations. You're supposed to do the parts in parentheses first. Positive plus negative equals negative, and negative minus negative equals positive, and all that."

"Oh, really?" The girl looked at the notebook. "I had forgotten that. Thanks a lot, um, Yugi." She blushed and held her books behind her back. "I mean, you know."

"No problem," Yugi replied.

The girl suddenly stuck out a hand. "I'm Tea," she said. "Tea Gardner."

They shook hands. "You know, you aren't weird," Tea said. "You're really nice. Thanks again, Yugi."

Yugi smiled. "You're welcome."

* * *

"I'm home!" Yugi yelled as he slammed the door behind him.

Karen's head appeared from the kitchen. "Hi, honey. How was your day?" she asked.

"Great," Yugi said on his way to the stairs. "Joey got a 79 on his quiz. Oh, you don't know Joey, do you? I've been tutoring him for a couple of weeks because he didn't do well in math. He had great potential, but he just didn't use it. We're friends now, though. Anyway, Miss Mai gave him a 79 on his math quiz today. I got a 96. Oh, and this girl named Tea asked me for help with some of her math homework. She's pretty nice. I hope we'll be friends. I'm going upstairs. Be down in a few!" With that, Yugi headed upstairs.

Yugi's mom stared after him. "Was that Yugi I heard actually talking about his day?" Yugi's dad said incredulously from the living room.

"Yes, at least I think it was," Yugi's mom answered, bewildered.

* * *

**And after that, I came home. I actually told Mom about my day, too. I was kind of surprised at how talkative I was suddenly. I don't get it.**

**_Maybe your being so happy has brought out your true personality._**

**Maybe. But I didn't think I was all that talkative.**

**_Who knows? Perhaps the real you has been hidden all this time. Now new friends and hope for the future has brought the real you to the light._**

**That sounds like poetry.**

**_Poetry, eh? I was once told I speak in riddles._**

Yugi laughed. **Well, it must have worn off. I understand you just fine. By the way, something strange happened today.**

**_Which would be what?_**

**This morning I was sure I closed the book and stuffed it under my pillow before I left for school. But when I came back, the book was lying open on the middle of my bed, and you had asked me how my day was.**

**_Hmmm._**

**Is there something you're not telling me?**

**_All right. I confess. I've been the one moving the book around when you weren't looking._**

**Aha! So I'm NOT crazy! But how do you do it?**

**_That, I can't truly explain. But I do know that somehow I am able to move the book a limited distance. I am also able to minimally interact with anyone who writes in the book._**

**What do you mean?**

**_Well, I'm sure you wondered how all of your injuries seemed to magically disappear that one time._**

**How did you know about that? Wait a second, did you have something to do with that?**

**_Guilty. I'm not sure how, but I can have a positive or negative effect on anyone who writes in this book._**

**That's amazing.**

**_I suppose._**

**Atemu, we've talked about a lot of things, but you've never told me what you look like.**

**_You haven't either._**

**Okay, you first.**

**_Why me?_**

**Because I asked first.**

**_Oh, fine._**

* * *

_Thanks to **frogger666, dragonlady222, Yami Nefebre, Anime WarriorSkye, moonlit-leaf, Atemu Yugi Lover34, Angel's Nocturne, Plasmarc, dogangeslrule, unseenwater, xBakura's lovex, Kyo lover with little sanity, Dark Angel of Fire Ice, littleslg, Steeple333, Masami Mistress Of Fire, Yura Dark Angel of Death, Miko102, MikosWish, kingleby, DarkCrimsonFlame3, YamiXYugi-yaoilover2899, **and **DarkNileStallion **for reviewing._


	6. Hidden Emotions

KT: Thanks for your patience, everyone. It's hard to get to the computer when you're juggling a baby. I had to move out of my apartment and back in with my mom because I ran out of money. But enough about my woes. Let's get to the chapter you were all waiting so patiently for.

(Thanks and Special Thanks are at the bottom)

(ooo)

6: Hidden Emotions

"I'm home!" Yugi yelled.

Karen's head appeared out of the living room. "How was your day?" she asked with a cheerful smile.

"Great," Yugi said. "Miss Mai came back from her maternity leave, and all the guys missed her, of course. They missed her a little less when she gave us a pop quiz. I still got an A-. Joey got a C, and Tea got a C. We were all really happy, because the quiz was really hard, more like a test under the guise of a quiz, you know? Anyway, after school, Joey, Tea, and me all went to the arcade, and then to the mall. I never thought I'd like the mall. It was all right. But now I have a load of killer homework to do. I'm gonna get to it." Yugi made his way upstairs and into his room.

"All right, dear," Yugi's mom called. "Dinner is in an hour."

Yugi closed his bedroom door behind him, and as usual, found the book open on his bed.

**_How was your day?_**

Yugi sat on his bed crosslegged, and pulled the book into his lap. He grabbed a pen out of his backpack.

**It was good. Miss Mai came back from maternity leave. She gave us a really hard quiz. I got an A-. After school, I went with Joey and Tea to the arcade and the mall.**

**_Did you have fun?_**

**Yeah, I did. I'm kind of wiped out, though.**

**_I would imagine so. It sounds like you've had an eventful day._**

**It was fun. And we're leaving for Grandpa's tomorrow afternoon. I haven't seen him since last year, and I'm pretty excited.**

**_Well, I'm certain he will be happy to see you as well._**

**By the way, I wanted to talk to you about something.**

**_Certainly._**

**You know, we've been avoiding the subject of running out of pages, but I checked this morning before leaving, and we only have five left, front to back. We'll be out soon.**

**_I know._**

**It's been a year since I first met you, and now I feel like I know you better than anyone else, even if I've never seen you.**

**_I feel the same way._**

**It's going to be really different when you're gone.**

Atemu didn't respond for a few moments. Yugi watched the page, waiting for an answer.

**_It's going to be very different, I suppose. Of course, I won't know, because I won't exist._**

**I wish there was something I could do.**

**_There must be some way to break the spell, but I have no idea what it could be._**

**Yeah. Wait a second! Remember that poem thing? About the collected sorrow and the written conveyor and all that stuff?**

**_Yes. Do you think it holds the key to breaking the spell?_**

**Yeah, I do. I think maybe the written conveyor is supposed to be you. I'll write it down again. "Only when the collected sorrow of the one who cares and who is cared for is given to the written conveyor will the long awaiting spirit be released and returned to natural form and at the cost of one shall the other go on." Somewhere in all that fancy talk must be the answer we're looking for.**

**_I think you may be right._**

**Okay, so we know that you're the written conveyor person. And you must also be the long awaiting spirit thing. So who this "one who cares and who is cared for"?**

**_I don't know._**

**And what's "collected sorrow"? Is that some emotion?**

**_I don't know that either._**

**This is a lot harder than I had thought it would be.**

**_What concerns me is that last part._**

**The one about the one going on at the cost of the other?**

**_Yes. Will someone have to be sacrificed in order for the spell to be broken?_**

**Maybe it's symbolic of something that isn't a person.**

**_Perhaps._**

(ooo)

Yugi and his dad packed all of the luggage into the car. "Mom, how many suitcases do you have to bring for a weekend visit?" Yugi complained as he tried to make a little more room to stuff one last bag in.

"I have to have all the essentials," Yugi's mom protested.

"We barely have enough space for our own things," Yugi's dad told her.

Somehow they managed to get everything in the car, despite Karen's extensive amount of belongings, and they all piled in, with Yugi's dad driving. It would take three hours to get to Solomon's house, but he loved to have them over.

Yes, the weekend promsied to be fun.

(ooo)

Karen glanced in the backseat and saw Yugi busily writing in his birthday present. _He really likes that book, _she thought with a smile. _I'm glad Dad gave it to him. It's almost as if the book itself changed him._

"So, who's up for a car game?" her husband invited.

"Honey, we are _not _singing any rounds of 'Row, Row, Row Your Boat' on this car trip," Karen said firmly.

"Aw." Her husband's shoulders slumped.

(ooo)

**We're on our way to Grandpa's now.**

**_How far away is he?_**

**Oh, it should be another two and a half hours.**

**_That's a long time._**

**Yeah. But I have you to keep me company!**

**_Yes, that's true. You must explain more about this "car" you're traveling in. _****_All right, so there are no horses?_**

**For the fifth time, no, there are no horses.**

**_And it's powered by the... "engine", correct?_**

**That's right.**

**_That simply sounds so farfetched._**

Yugi had to resist laughing out loud. **Maybe, but that's just because you've never seen a car before. Trust me, cars are very commonplace in the 21st century.**

**_I see...Tell me, Yugi, do you believe in fate?_**

**Fate? Well, I never really sat down and thought about it, but maybe.**

**_I do. I think that it was fate for us to meet. Think of how much better both our lives have gotten since we met one another. Something like that can't be pure coincidence._**

**Especially since it sounds like we look a lot alike.**

**_That too._**

Yugi beamed at his book. **I'm so glad I met you, Atemu.**

**_And I'm glad I met you._**

**You know, we really ought to be grateful for this book. I mean, I know it imprisoned you for 5,000 years, but without it, there's no way we could ever have known each other.**

**_Yes, it seems good things can come out of the very worst._**

Yugi hugged the book to his chest. He couldn't imagine living life without the book or Atemu. He wondered how he did it all those years. Then the thought suddenly came to him that he'd have to start wondering again, because the pages would run out sooner or later. Yugi had learned the art of smaller handwriting in the year he'd had the book, but still, he knew there were only a few pages left even now. Yugi put the book back on his lap with a sigh.

**So, anything else you want to know about the car?**

**_Yes. What is an 'automatic window'? You wrote that in the corner about three pages ago._**

**I did? I must have been scribbling. Well, do you know what glass is?**

**_...No._**

**Oh. Well, this might be a little hard. Okay, glass is this thing you get when you set sand on fire, I think.**

**_You can set sand on fire?_**

**Uh, maybe?**

**_...Okay...I'm listening._**

**Well, anyway, you can see through glass because it's clear. We use glass for windows and things like that, and in the car there's usually six windows. One for the front, two for each side, and one for the back.**

**_That's a bit confusing. How about the basics?_**

**Okay. Well, a car can have several names. Like "automobile" or "vehicle", but people usually just call it a car. There are different kinds of cars. The kind that's bigger and seats more is known as a van. The kind that's higher up off the ground, and has the big bed on the back is called a truck. There's also a bunch of companies who make cars, and they name their vehicles.**

**_Very interesting. Tell me again, why do you have to take a test to pilot one of these things?_**

**Well, little kids don't have the brain capacity to properly drive a car. When you turn 15, you can get your learner's permit, which basically allows you to practice driving a car before you can get your license at 16.**

**_So you have a few years before you're old enough to get your "learner's permit"._**

**Yeah. Right now an average 12-year-old probably wouldn't be able to properly drive a car unless they had above average intelligence.**

**_Like you._**

**Yeah, like me. I don't know, I might have the capacity to drive a car, but goodness knows I'm not tall enou**

"Look out!" Yugi's mom screamed.

Yugi's head snapped up in time to the see the speeding car run the red light. It crossed in front of them quickly, but not quickly enough. The Motos' car slammed into the speeding car's side. All three passengers were thrown forward. The book flew out of Yugi's lap and bounced off the back of Karen's seat. Both cars skidded across the intersection. Other cars had to screech to a halt to avoid joining the wreck.

The silver car spun around twice before coming to a stop in the middle of the intersection. A truck had to swerve to avoid the Motos' car as it drove forward, with a fallen bag jamming the gas pedal to the floor. The car only stopped when its front end smashed into a telephone pole.

(ooo)

_"And now our top story. Earlier this morning there was a two-car accident on the Waylock-Morris intersection. We'll go live to the scene with Andrea Bates."_

_"Thank you, Richard. I'm here on the scene where the accident occurred approximately three hours ago. Witnesses say that this silver car over here ran the red light and passed in front of the white car by the telephone pole. The white car smashed into the lower right side of the silver car, causing both to spin before the silver car flipped over and white car hit the pole.. The driver of the silver car, Kevin Wildes, escaped severe injury, but the passengers of the station wagon, Shou and Karen Moto and their twelve-year-old son Yugi, were not so fortunate. Karen Moto had to be airlifted to the hospital for several life-threatening injuries as police officers cleared the streets for an ambulance to get through to her husband and son--"_

"I don' believe it!" Joey exclaimed. He grabbed the phone next to the sofa and dialed a number. It rang three times before a girl's voice came on the line. _"Hello?"_

"Tea, it's Joey," Joey said. "Yugi's family got in a car wreck!"

_"What!" _Tea exclaimed.

(ooo)

_What...what happened? He turned over, or tried to. But his body wouldn't respond._

_"What the hell?" He tried to stand up, but he couldn't. He tried to open his eyes, but they didn't budge. "What's going on?" He tried to reach out and find something, but his hands didn't work._

_"Wh...why?" His mind was utterly confused. Why was his body not responding? He knew he had to be lying down, but he could feel nothing underneath him. He could hear no one, and it must have been night. "Who did this to me?"_

_Then, all at once his last moments before blacking out returned. Someone had asked to meet him in the library. He came. There was no one. Then he turned...and he saw the cursed book._

_The book? The book! I must be in the book! He started to feel panic. He had heard of the book's curse, how it stole the body and soul of a living person and trapped them within its pages. But he hadn't believed it. He realized he could still hear that man's evil laughter as the wind pulled at him._

_That damn advisor did this to me! he fumed. Impossible! When I get out of here, he will rue the day he--_

_His thoughts came to a screeching halt when he realized there _was_ no getting out of here. The curse was eternal. Any avenging would be left up to those outside._

_If they even knew._

_"I'm trapped," he said out loud with a sense of dread. And then he was silent._

_Silent._

_Silent._

_Silent._

_"My name is Yugi Moto."_

_He would have blinked if his eyes were working. Was someone speaking to him? He decided to answer._

_"Hello, Yugi Moto. My name is Atemu."_

(ooo)

_Atemu waited as patiently as he could. Ever since he had met Yugi he had begun to have a sense of time. And his senses told him there was a reason Yugi had stopped his sentence mid-word, and hadn't responded in so long._

_As the time passed, Atemu began to feel more worry. Was Yugi all right? Had he gotten hurt? Had someone taken the book from him?_

_Then he sensed it._

_"Sorry about the interruption."_

_The words themselves seemed flat, not full of life like they usually were. Atemu knew instantly that something was wrong._

_"Yugi, what happened? Is everything all right?"_

_"Everything's fine. I just saw something...interesting."_

_Atemu knew that Yugi was lying to him, but he didn't know why. "Are you sure?" He was begging for anything._

_"I'm sure."_

_Atemu sighed. Yugi obviously wasn't going to tell him what happened. "All right."_

_"So, you were asking about windows, right?"_

_"Yes. Yes I was." Atemu could almost feel Yugi's sadness. But if Yugi didn't want to talk about it, Atemu would not force him. He could only hope that Yugi would eventually tell him what was wrong._

_I just want to help you..._

(ooo)

"You don't want to help me," Atemu scoffed. "You only want my position. Do you think I'm stupid?"

"Of course not, Your Higness," the advisor said to the floor.

Atemu was only sixteen, but he was no idiot. He could see right through anyone's face. His mother had always told him he had the wonderful gift of being able to sense people's true emotions. And this man before him was nothing but a greedy liar.

"I'll give you one more chance," Atemu said. "Mess up again, and you're going straight to the dungeon."

"Yes, Your Highness."

And the man had seemed to change. But really, all he had done was hold in his plot until he had gotten his hands on the book. That had taken four years. And then, when the time was right, he captured the young pharaoh in the pages and tried to take control of the kingdom.

Atemu didn't know if the man had been successful or not, but he certainly hoped he hadn't.

(ooo)

_And now, Atemu could tell that Yugi was hiding something. Even as he explained, or tried to explain, the "car", Yugi seemed different. There were no cute jokes about Atemu's ignorance, no pretending to poke Atemu by poking the pages with his pen, no nothing. Atemu thought Yugi might be sad because they had only a few pages left. But there was something more. Something _else _had happened to change Yugi. Atemu only hoped it wasn't too terrible._

_He had no idea how truly terrible it was._

(ooo)

Thanks to **Miko102, frogger666, littleslg, dragonlady222, Yami-Echo, yamiishot, DarkCrimsonFlame3, yamisgirl13, xBakura's lovex, unseenwater, Angel's Nocturne, AnimeWarriorSkye, Yana5, Masami Mistress of Fire, moonlit-leaf, KawaiiYuki, kingleby, Yami Neferbre, cheeky-eyes, Tucker's Mayflower, The Black Angels Red Rose, Godell, MikosWish, YamiXYugi-yaoilover2899, Seigyoku Kiryou 'n Honoo Iware, YamiYugi3, littlekittykat, cosmic tomato, flamescythe, Miss Elizabeth Blakeney, **and **child star **for reviewing and having such patience with me!

Special thanks to **Miko102, littleslg, dragonlady222, Angel's Nocturne, Anime WarriorSkye, Yami Neferbre, cheeky-eyes, The Black Angels Red Rose, YamiXYugi-yaoilover2899, **and** Seigyoku Kiryou 'n Honoo Iware **for your comments on my darling baby! Andi says "guuuhhhhhhhhh"...I think that means "thanks."

Sorry if the chapter seems short, everyone. I promise next one will be longer, much longer! If I missed anyone, I'm sorry. I'm kind of sleepy...


	7. Last Pages

KT: Thanks to **Miko102, littleslg, tavi, DarkandDaisuke, cheeky-eyes, moonlit-leaf, kingleby, cosmic tomato, Atemu Yugi Lover34, Yami-Yugi3, Godell, Angel's Nocturne, child star, anon, **and **Crystal F. Flowright** for reviewing. Here's the next chapter.

* * *

7: Last Pages 

"Can we go any faster?" Tea asked worriedly.

"I'm already driving thirty miles over the speed limit," Tristan replied. Since he was the only 16-year-old present, he got to drive. "I don't want to crash."

Joey leaned in from the backseat. "I appreciate da help, Tristan, really, but I thought you didn't like Yugi."

"I don't care too much for him," Tristan admitted as he flew past a car driving the speed limit, "but teasing him at school is one thing. His life and his parents' lives are in danger right now."

"Well, thanks for comin' through now," Joey said.

"We can save the sentiments for later," Tristan told him as he ran a red light.

* * *

When they made it to the hospital, Joey kicked open the door and jumped out. Tea climbed out after him while Tristan drove off to find a parking space. 

"Oh, I hope Yugi is all right," Tea said worriedly.

"So do I," Joey replied. His face was grim.

They hurried through the double doors and up to the receptionist's desk.

"Can you tell us where Yugi Moto's room is?" Tea asked.

The receptionist turned to her computer and tapped a few keys before turning back. "He's in room 307," she told them.

"Thank you," Tea said as she and Joey turned and ran down the hall.

* * *

_Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep._

Yugi's eyes opened slowly. He felt a dull ache in his head. Was he lying down? There was a bright light shining in his face, and he squinted. What had happened?

"Yugi?"

Yugi looked over to his left and saw his grandpa leaning over him worriedly. Solomon's face melted in relief when he saw his grandson looking at him. "Thank goodness," Solomon said. "How do you feel?"

"I..." Yugi considered. "My head...hurts a little. My legs are stiff. My leg...feels funny. What...what happened?"

Solomon sighed. He suddenly looked years older. "You were in a car wreck, Yugi. All three of you were brought to the hospital." He looked down. "Fortunately, you had the least serious injuries. Nothing broken, but your ankle was sprained and you have a mild concussion."

"Where are Mom and Dad?" Yugi asked.

"Your mother is in surgery," Solomon said. "Your father...is...gone. He died on the way."

_He's dead... _Yugi felt a coldness inside himself. "Is Mom going to make it?" he asked.

"I'm hopeful, but the doctors aren't," Solomon said. "They're doing everything they can, but they say she's lost too much blood." He held something out to Yugi. "Here. You've been unconscious on and off for a few hours. They gave you some painkillers, and you woke up a few times and kept asking for your book. You were holding it to your chest when they pulled you out of the car."

Yugi reached for the book with his safe arm. "What's going to happen?" he asked.

"They want to keep you overnight to ensure that you'll be all right. If your mother makes it, she'll need care for a while. The two of you will stay with me."

Yugi didn't say anything else. His grip on the book tightened.

* * *

While waiting for news, Yugi didn't cry. When they told him that his mother was dead, Yugi didn't cry. He was an orphan now. Solomon would of course take him in. When his friends made it to the hospital and expressed their sorrow for his loss, Yugi didn't cry. 

At the hospital, Solomon kept his mind off of losing his son and daughter-in-law by discussing plans with Yugi. He would have to take the bus to school, instead of walking, and he could have the bedroom he used whenever he visited Solomon. Until his ankle got better he would be confined to crutches. "Things will be different, of course, but we'll make it," Solomon said.

Yugi said nothing, but simply looked down at the book in his lap. "Will we have a funeral?" he asked.

"Well...of course," Solomon said. "We'll have to keep it simple, so I can pay for it--"

"Can I have a little time alone?" Yugi asked suddenly.

Solomon looked a little surprised, but he nodded. "Yes, of course, Yugi," he said. He headed for the door. "I'll be right outside if you need me." He closed the door behind himself.

Yugi waited a few seconds, and then turned on his side and hugged the book to his chest. He felt tears welling up and fought hard to hold them back. _Tears never did anything for anyone, _he told himself.

Yugi stayed in that position for a little while. When he felt he was ready, Yugi sat up and looked down at the book in his lap. He reached over to the small table and picked up the pen that had been lying on it. He opened the book and flipped to the correct page. He had stopped writing in midword when the car accident occurred, and Atemu had responded underneath.

**_Yugi? Is something wrong? What's going on?_**

Yugi pushed down the top of the pen, which made the point come out, and started to write.

**Sorry about the interruption.**

**_Yugi, what happened? Is everything all right?_ **

Everything's fine. I just saw something...interesting.

_Are you sure?_

I'm sure.

_All right._

So, you were asking about windows, right?

_Yes. Yes I was._

**Oh, yes, the cars. Like I was saying, I'm not tall enough to drive a car without a pillow. **

Yugi's fingers felt numb as he continued to write.

* * *

For a week after, Yugi neglected to write in the book. He and Solomon moved all of his things to his new home, and they sold most of the other things. Solomon decided not to press charges against Keith Handelson because he wanted to help Yugi put the whole thing in the past. They had the funeral the next Sunday--just them, a few of Mr. and Mrs. Moto's friends, Joey and Tea there for Yugi, and a pastor to read from the Bible. Very short and simple, and inexpensive. 

Yugi didn't cry then either. The general happiness he had finally become accustomed to was snatched away in an instant, leaving what appeared to be an emotionless shell in its place. No laughs. No smiles. No twinkle in the eye. It was like a year ago, only ten times worse.

_I wish I had never been born, _Yugi thought often.

Yugi didn't want to tell Atemu what had happened. He feared if he revisited that again he might lose control and try to kill himself. And what could Atemu do anyway? He was a spirit in a book. All he could do was write.

Solomon let Yugi take the week off from school, and he called in and informed the principal of the situation. The principal agreed that a week off from school would be for the best for Yugi. Some of Yugi's classmates sent him condolence notes. Miss Mai sent him a three-page letter. Joey and Tea came over often to hang out with him, and see if they could pull him out of his depression.

Nothing worked.

Solomon began to wonder if they would need help. He asked Yugi if a psychiatrist was in order, but Yugi said no, he preferred to keep his thoughts to himself. Solomon had agreed not to go against Yugi's wishes, but he secretly spoke to Joey and Tea and asked if they could help. They said they would try, and did, but Yugi wouldn't tell them anything either.

Things were looking truly, truly bleak.

* * *

On Sunday evening, Yugi made his way slowly over to the desk and sat down, looking down at the book sitting on it. He had avoided talking to Atemu for so long. It was finally time to talk. He felt his head was level enough that he wouldn't try to slit his wrists if he mentioned the car wreck. 

He opened the book. Atemu had written him a note on the last blank page.

**_Why are you avoiding me?_**

Yugi sat on his bed and picked up a pen. He hesitated before beginning to write.

**Things aren't going well.**

**_What's the matter, Yugi?_**

**Last week, when we were going to Grandpa's, we got into a car wreck. That means another car hit us. Car wrecks are very dangerous and often fatal. Dad died on the way to the hospital. Mom died in surgery. I'm living with Grandpa now.**

There was a pause. **_Yugi, why didn't you tell me?_**

**I thought I might commit suicide if I brought it up again.**

**_What! Yugi, this is serious. Are you feeling all right?_**

**Oh, sure. Both of my parents are dead. I'm an orphan, Atemu, how do you THINK I'd feel? **Yugi felt tears rising. **They're both gone. I'm never going to see them again. I mean, do you think I'd feel anything besides utter devastation?**

Atemu didn't say anything. Yugi dropped the pen and put his face in his hands. He burst into tears. All the grief and pain he had bottled up for over a week came flooding out of him. Several tears hit the pages and sank in. Not only were both of his parents gone, but soon he would lose his best friend. Life wasn't fair to him at all.

Yugi was so upset that he didn't notice that the book had slid off of his lap and fallen to the floor. He saw a flash of light through his hands and thought absently that Solomon had turned on the hall light. Finally he collected himself enough to pick up the book. Atemu had responded, taking up the last line in the book.

**_Don't cry, Yugi._**

Yugi felt even more tears brimming at that sentence. Atemu really did care about him. He didn't want to lose Atemu yet. _But how did I he know I was crying...?_

There was a footstep near him. Yugi's head jerked up, fresh tears on his face, thinking that Solomon had let himself in. Instead it was a young man, staring at him in amazement. His face seemed vaguely familiar to Yugi, but he knew he had never seen this guy before. Inspiration dawned on him when he realized they were both staring at each other with the same amazed expression.

"Yugi?" Atemu said in disbelief.

"Oh my God," was all Yugi could say.

Atemu got down on his knees so he could look Yugi in the eye. "It _is_ you," he said. He reached out and wiped one of Yugi's tears away with his thumb. "And you _were_ crying."

Yugi sniffled. Atemu immediately reacted and wrapped his arms around the 12-year-old. "Don't cry," Atemu said. "It's okay."

Yugi rested his head on Atemu's shoulder. "How--how did you get here?" he asked, not bothering to wipe the rest of his tears.

"I don't know." Atemu didn't even seem to care. His main concern was the crying 12-year-old in his arms. He rubbed Yugi's back. "Let's worry about that later, okay?"

Yugi sniffled and nodded. "D...Does this mean you won't cease to exist?" he asked, fearful that Atemu was going to vanish any second.

"I'd think it would," Atemu told him. "I had to escape the book to escape the danger of ceasing to exist. Whatever happened, it freed me, so now I'm alive for real."

"Thank God!" Yugi cried, throwing his arms around Atemu's neck. "I couldn't bear to lose anybody else."

* * *

Taku: So, the old spirit finally popped out of the book.  
KT: Yep.  
Juni: Does that have something to do with the weirdo poem?  
KT: Uh-huh.  
Taku: Are you going to tell them about the previews?  
KT: Yes. Listen up, everyone. After The Book I plan to write another story. But I haven't made up my mind on which one will come first. So if you would kindly peek into my profile at some point, and tell me which one sounds the best, I'll take your word for it. Thanks in advance. 


	8. At The Cost Of One

Juni: Welcome back. Maru-chan thanks **yamiyugi23, DarkandDaisuke, dragonlady222, Anime WarriorSkye, Masami Mistress of Fire, moonlit-leaf, tavi, Isis the Sphinx, Crystal F. Flowright, Yami Nefebre, Atemu Yugi Lover34, Yami-Echo, MikosWish, Dark Angel Of Fire Ice, yamiishot, darkgold, Littleslg, child star, Yami-Yugi3, eh.sure.whatever, kingleby, Serzie, JSR, YamiXYugi-yaoilover2899, **and **RyuKaiser3 **for reviewing.  
KT: Is Taku-san here yet or what?  
Juni: No, he decided to skip this A/N.  
KT: Good. I hate his guts.  
Juni: Oh. Then why call him Taku-san and not just Taku...?

* * *

7: At The Cost Of One... 

_Atemu was nervous. Scared, even. Now that he had some sense of the passage of time, he wondered why Yugi wasn't speaking to him. Had his hunch been right? Had something truly terrible happened to poor Yugi?_

_"Why are you avoiding me?" Atemu called out._

_No answer. Atemu sighed. Was this the end? Would he remain trapped in here forever, waiting for Yugi to respond?_

_Finally, some hope appeared. But it was quickly dashed as Atemu sensed the words._

_"Things aren't going well."_

_"What's the matter, Yugi?"_

_"Last week, when we were going to Grandpa's, we got into a car wreck. That means another car hit us. Car wrecks are very dangerous and often fatal. Dad died on the way to the hospital. Mom died in surgery. I'm living with Grandpa now."_

_Oh no, Atemu thought. This must be what happened. He felt overwhelming guilt for not being able to do anything. "Yugi, why didn't you tell me?" he asked. Why didn't he share this pain with me?_

_"I thought I might commit suicide if I brought it up again."_

_"What!" Atemu exclaimed. "Yugi, this is serious. Are you feeling all right?"_

_"Oh, sure. Both of my parents are dead. I'm an orphan, Atemu, how do you THINK I'd feel?" Atemu heard his broken voice. "They're both gone. I'm never going to see them again. I mean, do you think I'd feel anything besides utter devastation?"_

_Atemu had no answer. He heard Yugi start to cry and could feel the boy's pain. I've made his pain worse, Atemu realized. Yet there's nothing I can do to make it better. How he longed to hold Yugi and let him know everything would be all right. He felt his own tears rising at the thought of Yugi all alone in the world, with no one to hold on to. Once I'm gone, will he be able to find someone to replace me?_

_A single tear spilled down Atemu's cheek._

_Yugi, I'm so sorry. Don't cry. Please don't cry._

_"Don't cry, Yugi."_

He held out his arms, wishing there was something he could do. But wait...His arms? He still had arms?

He still had arms and legs. And he could feel them. He could move. He was moving! He almost tripped and fell, but he managed to stay on his feet. He couldn't see, but he heard Yugi sniffling. The sound was different. It was clear. He could hear!

He opened his eyes, and everything was clear. No darkness. No sense of disembodiment. Nothing. He looked around, and then he saw a pathetic figure kneeling on the floor, with both hands on a book. A pair of crutches lay nearby.

Atemu moved towards the figure, and suddenly he looked up. His cheeks were covered in tear-streaks, and he looked like his entire world had been destroyed. Atemu stared at him, realizing that something about him seemed incredibly familiar.

He then noticed that the boy was staring at him in the same way.

Atemu took a gamble. "Yugi?"

"Oh my God."

_It's him. _

Atemu got down on his knees so he could look Yugi in the eye. "It is you," he said. He reached out and wiped one of Yugi's tears away with his thumb. "And you were crying."

Yugi sniffled. Atemu immediately reacted and wrapped his arms around the 12-year-old. "Don't cry," Atemu said. "It's okay."

Yugi rested his head on Atemu's shoulder. "How--how did you get here?" he asked, not bothering to wipe the rest of his tears.

"I don't know." Atemu didn't even care. His main concern was the crying 12-year-old in his arms. He rubbed Yugi's back. "Let's worry about that later, okay?"

Yugi sniffled and nodded. "D...Does this mean you won't cease to exist?" he asked, fearful that Atemu was going to vanish any second.

"I'd think it would," Atemu told him. "I had to escape the book to escape the danger of ceasing to exist. Whatever happened, it freed me, so now I'm alive for real."

"Thank God!" Yugi cried, throwing his arms around Atemu's neck. "I couldn't bear to lose anybody else."

* * *

"Okay, see?" Yugi was grinning from ear to ear as he held up the book for Solomon, Tea, and Joey to see. "This is the book. Just take a peek inside." He put the book on the coffee table and flipped to a page where they had a simple conversation about computers. 

The three peered at the book. "Well, I recognize Yugi's handwriting," Tea said, "but that swirly stuff..."

"That's mine," Atemu clarified.

Joey sat back. "So, yer tellin' us dat dis hea book contained dis guy Atemu, and he's been talkin' to ya through da pages an' stuff, and when you cried on da book, it let 'im out?" He had a skeptical tone to his voice.

"That's right," Yugi said. "At first we didn't get what the poem in the back meant, but basically it meant that when my tears fell on the book, Atemu would be released from it."

"That's-that's unbelievable," Tea said.

"I've heard of crazier things," Solomon piped up. "I can't believe that the book I gave you held more worth than I thought it did. But, it does appear that you're a lot happier now that this Atemu fellow is here."

Yugi nodded happily.

"So, what? Are we supposed to call him 'My Pharaoh' or whatever?" Tea asked.

"No need," Atemu said, waving a hand. "I wouldn't care if I never heard that title again. You can all just call me Atemu."

It was the next day. Yugi and Atemu had discussed how they would break the strange news to Solomon. It was Atemu who suggested that Joey and Tea be present as well, since they were Yugi's friends. Yugi and Atemu had taken turns explaining what had happened, from the time Yugi first wrote his name in the book to when Atemu surprisingly popped out of the book, and their finally figuring out what the poem--or most of it anyway--meant. Now they only had to decide what to do about the new turn of events.

"Of course, Atemu can stay here with you, Yugi," Solomon said. "The last thing I would want is to separate you two, especially since it seems Atemu has been Yugi's listening ear for over a year. He can have the guest bedroom."

"What about his clothes?" Tea interrupted.

They all looked at Atemu, who was still wearing his ancient Egypt garb and lots of gold jewelry. "We can take him clothes shopping," Solomon replied. "Until then, he can wear some of my old clothes. They might be a little loose and short, but they should work."

They all stood up. "So how old is he, anyway?" Tea asked. "Will he have to come to high school?"

"No, he's twenty," Yugi replied.

"He can help me in the game shop," Solomon told them. "I think everything should work out just fine!"

* * *

"Yugi?" 

Yugi glanced up to see Atemu peeking out of his new bedroom door. He looked embarrassed. "Could you...help me?"

"Sure," Yugi said. He headed into Atemu's room. Inside was simply a bed, a dresser, and a wall clock. Solomon had put one of his old long-sleeved white shirts, blue jeans, and a belt on the bed. So far, Atemu had donned the shirt. It fell to his hips, but the sleeves stopped halfway between his elbow and his wrist. All of Atemu's ancient garb was piled on the bed, including his cape and his many pieces of jewelry. "So what's up?"

"Well..." Atemu looked over at the jeans. "I'm really not sure how you..."

Yugi looked confused, and then it dawned on him. "Oh! I see. Well, look." He picked up Atemu's jeans, and then pointed at the pair of jeans he was wearing. "You just stick your legs into the holes right there, and then pull them up, and then you pull this button through this little hole right here and you pull this up."

"Oh..." Atemu still looked kind of confused, but he managed to get his jeans on without much trouble. The jeans, mercifully, covered his ankles, but they were very loose at the top, and Yugi had to help Atemu put the belt on. "See? Now you look like any other person in the 21st century!"

Atemu smiled at this. "I'm glad that makes you so happy," he said.

Yugi smiled back at him. "I'm just glad I won't lose you forever," he answered. His smile suddenly disappeared, and he looked down. "That would be almost be as bad as losing my parents..."

Atemu hugged Yugi. "I'm not going anywhere," he promised.

* * *

That afternoon, Solomon and Yugi took Atemu clothes shopping. It took them a while to figure out what size he wore, since his ancient attire didn't have name tags. But once they did, there was no stopping Yugi. He picked out shirt after shirt after pants after pants until Solomon finally stopped him by saying "At this rate, we'll have to take out a mortgage on the house!" 

When they got home, Yugi took Atemu upstairs and showed him how to put on every different article of clothing, so he wouldn't have any trouble. After Atemu had managed to put on a long-sleeved green shirt and jeans--that all fit--Solomon brought him into the store and showed him the ropes. Atemu would get paid to help around the shop, like Yugi.

After Yugi managed to kidnap Atemu, he started showing him some of the things they had spoken about in the book. Atemu was the most fascinated with the computer, and he spent several hours on it.

That night Yugi opted to sleep on the floor in Atemu's room so they could talk. He unrolled a sleeping bag and lined it up beside Atemu's bed. Atemu was still in the bathroom, brushing his teeth. Yugi climbed up on his bed and sat crosslegged, waiting for Atemu to show up.

_It's so amazing how dramatically my life has changed just because of a book, _Yugi thought. He cleared his throat.

Atemu had been brushing his teeth for about six minutes when he thought he saw a light down the hall. Curious, Atemu left the bathroom and headed in the direction of the light. _It looks like it's coming from Yugi's room, _he thought.

Atemu pushed open Yugi's door, and gasped when he saw that the book, which had been lying closed on Yugi's desk, was now open and glowing brightly. With his toothbrush still hanging out of his mouth, Atemu walked over to the book and looked at it. His eyes widened when he saw that line after line was slowly fading into the page. "What's going on?" he exclaimed, pulling his toothbrush out of his mouth.

The book continued to glow and erase lines. Atemu reached out to the book, as if he could stop the words from disappearing. Two strands of light suddenly wrapped around his forearm, and Atemu tried to pull his hand back, but it seemed to be stuck fast to the pages of the book.

"Atemu?" Yugi was standing in the doorway, staring. "What's going--"

Suddenly, a third strand of light rose from the book and zapped towards Yugi. It struck him on the forehead, and he jerked suddenly, as if electrocuted. He fell to the floor.

"Yugi!" Atemu yelled. The book suddenly stopped glowing, and the light disappeared. Atemu found his hand free, and he ran to Yugi and lifted his top half off the floor. "Yugi, are you all right? Speak to me!"

Yugi groaned, and his eyes fluttered open. "What happened?" he asked.

"I'm not sure," Atemu replied. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I think so," Yugi said. He sat up and rubbed his head.

Atemu looked back at the book. It was closed again. He stood up and went over to it and opened the cover, flipping some of the pages. All the words and lines were still there. So what had he interrupted?

* * *

"I just can't believe she sneezed in his face," Tea said. "That was so gross!" 

"Uh, yeah!" Joey laughed. "I jus' hope I don't catch dis cold goin' around. Last thing I need's a stuffy nose and watery eyes."

"Whatever happened to that impenetrable Wheeler immune system?" Tea teased.

"It don't count against colds!" Joey snapped.

Tea giggled, and then turned to Yugi, who hadn't said a word since they had left school. "Yugi? You okay? You've been awfully quiet..."

"Hmm?" Yugi said, looking up. "Oh, I'm fine, Tea," he said with a smile. "I just don't feel so great."

"Da cold!" Joey exclaimed, dancing away from Yugi. "Don't give it t' me!"

Tea slapped Joey's arm. "Stop acting so dumb!" she reprimanded.

Yugi listened to them argue, but couldn't find it in himself to join in. Maybe it _was _a cold, but it didn't feel like it. He had that unwell feeling running through his whole body, and he was pretty sure colds were restricted to the head. But then what could be wrong?

Tea and Joey's voices were now more of a background noise. Yugi rubbed his forehead, feeling a throbbing pain between his eyes. He was shocked when the path in front of him began to blur.

_What...what's happening? _Yugi couldn't keep his feet steady. He felt himself falling but didn't know why. Would it hurt when he hit the sidewalk?

Tea and Joey's voices were blurry and faded, like he was hearing them underwater. He thought he heard them calling his name, but he couldn't be sure. For some reason, he was picturing the book in his mind's eye. He watched it flip to the back and saw the poem in red.

_At the cost of one shall the other go on..._

He felt his eyes closed and let himself fall unconscious.

* * *

"Your drawer was only fifteen cents over, Atemu," Solomon said warmly. "You're getting this money thing down well." 

"Phew!" Atemu sighed in relief, closing the cash register.

The phone rang, and Solomon walked over and picked it up. "Moto Game Shop," he sang in his practiced customer voice. Atemu didn't pay much attention, for he was banging the buttons on the cash register, trying to get it to open so he could put the rolls of change back in. However, his head snapped up when he heard Solomon cry, "_What_?!"

Solomon's face was covered in worry. "Where did you take him?...All right, then...Room 306...We'll be there shortly." He hung up and turned to Atemu. "Grab your jacket. We're going to the hospital."

"Why? What happened?" Atemu asked in worry.

"Yugi passed out on the way home."

* * *

Juni: Never a dull moment with you, is there, Maru-chan?  
KT: Nope. See you guys next time. 


	9. The Book Of Many Pathways

KT: And we're back. Review responses will be in my bio soon. In case you missed the last ones, they're still there.  
Taku: Happy Thanksgiving, mortals. Maruka-san thanks** Atemu Yugi Lover34, dragonlady222, frogger666, GRose522, DarkandDaisuke, yamiishot, anon, yamiyugi23, Crystal F. Flowright, Anime WarriorSkye, moonlit-leaf, Yami-Yugi3, child star, cheeky-eyes, **and **Serzie** for reviewing.  
Juni: And just when I thought the fluff was going to commence...How sad.  
KT: That's just my style.  
Taku: Don't we know it. Here's the next chapter, which does absolutely nothing to dissolve the cliffhanger.  
KT: Stop spoiling.

* * *

9: The Book Of Many Pathways

"What is this?" Atemu said to himself as he pulled one scroll down. He rolled it open partway. "The...Book...Of...Ma-nee Pa-thuh-ways. This looks interesting." He unrolled it further and had just started in on the first words when the door flew open.

"Atemu!" Atemu started in surprise, throwing the scroll into the air. He turned around, feeling and looking very guilty, and saw his mother at the door.

"Atemu," his mother said again, in her warning tone, "what did I tell you about playing around in the great library? You're not supposed to come in here until you turn twelve!"

Atemu looked down. "Sorry, Mother," he sighed. He watched his mother pick up the scroll, roll it back up, and slide it into its space.

"Now," she said, "go outside and play. Your cousin's been looking for you."

* * *

"The Book of Many Pathways?" Seto scoffed, settling himself back in his reclined position and closing his eyes. "What do you know of it, kiddo? You're only six."

"So?" Atemu demanded. "I want to know about it!"

"You're not privy to that kind of information until you turn twelve, like me," Seto answered.

Atemu pushed Seto's feet off of the bench they were propped up on to get his attention. "Please, Seto? Just once and I'll never ever ask you for anything ever again."

Seto ignored him.

Atemu took a deep breath. This would be harder than he thought. "Puh-leeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee--"

"All _right_! Just _stop_ it!" Seto snapped, opening his eyes and up. "What on earth have you been doing to your lungs to stretch them so, you pest?"

Atemu grinned triumphantly, refusing to give up his secrets.

"Fine." Seto sighed and crossed his legs. Atemu eagerly sat down in front of his cousin in a similar position. "Now," Seto began, "the Book of Many Pathways is a legendary book that can house the mind, body, and soul of a single individual for an indefinite period of time--"

"Like forever?" Atemu jumped in.

"You wanna hear about it or not?" Seto demanded irritably.

Atemu quieted down.

"_Thank_ you. Now, like I was saying, it holds a single soul for an _indefinite period of time_. Not forever. If it were forever, the soul could never escape."

Atemu opened his mouth to comment but was silenced by a stony look from Seto. "Now, not just anyone can use this book. It was originally created to be used against any of the Pharaoh's foes, in case their deeds were too evil for them to be simply executed. But no one's really fallen under that category yet. It was created like hundreds of years ago, when the earth was still young or some such nonsense. Not a lot of people believe it really exists anymore."

"Is there any proof it does?" Atemu asked.

For once Seto didn't reprimand him for interrupting. "Yes, there's plenty of proof. I don't happen to have any of it on hand, but it has to be somewhere, wouldn't you agree?"

"Does Father have it?"

Seto looked surprised. "That's a good question. Actually, I don't know. I would guess that it had been passed down from pharaoh to pharaoh, so it would probably make sense that he have it, but I can't be sure."

"We could ask," Atemu piped up.

"You think he would just _tell_ us?" Seto said skeptically. "That's stupid. Why would even acknowledge the existence, let alone his possession, of such a valuable thing to two kids like us?"

"Oh," Atemu said disappointedly.

* * *

_fourteen years later

* * *

_

"Atemu, I must speak with you for a moment."

Atemu looked up and saw Seto in the doorway. His fancy High Priest headdress barely fit through the door, and Atemu had to fight the urge to laugh. "Certainly," he managed instead, standing to his feet.

"I believe there is dissension among our ranks."

Atemu raised an eyebrow. "A traitor? That's ridiculous. I weeded out all the traitors and skeptics when I ascended to the throne."

"I think you missed one."

Atemu's eyes narrowed. "And what gives you that idea?"

"Last night The Book was stolen."

"What?" Atemu could hardly believe his ears. "Someone took it? That can't be true. It's protected by some of the strongest magics we know, plus it's under lock and key. Perhaps someone placed it elsewhere."

"Yes, like into the hands of a traitor," Seto said. "I'm not trying to alarm you, but you should be wary of who you let get close to you."

Atemu swallowed hard. If someone had stolen it, what did they plan to do with it? Would it be used against him? Seto? Someone else? He had to find that book before it fell into the wrong hands. And if it had already fallen into the wrong hands, he had to find the owner of those hands before anything happened.

* * *

"High Priest."

Seto stopped and turned. Isis stood before him. "Have you seen the Pharaoh? He said he wished to meet with me over a half hour ago."

"That's not like Atemu to forget a meeting," Seto said. He remembered what he had warned Atemu about only a week before. "We had better find out where he went."

Isis nodded in agreement. "I have tried to find out myself, but I am seeing nothing. It is as if someone is blocking my view of the future."

"Not good at all," Seto said as they started down the hall. "Someone could be plotting something against the Pharaoh, and we have no knowledge of it." He suddenly spotted a servant girl he had seen delivering something to Atemu around a half hour ago. "You!" he called out.

The girl turned and bowed. "Yes, High Priest?"

"Do you know where the Pharaoh has gone?"

The girl seemed to consider. "The message I delivered to him was from one of his advisors. I don't know what it contained, but he left very quickly and said he would be in the great library if anyone needed him."

"Thank you," Seto said. He turned to Isis. "Let's go." They hurried down the hallway.

The great library was all the way on the other side of the palace from where Seto and Isis were, but they did not slow at all. They both knew that something had to be going on, and they couldn't waste any time. A single second spent catching their breath could be the one second between saving Atemu's life and letting him die, if he really was in danger. Seto shouted to several guards along the way, and soon it became a procession hurrying to the great library.

When they came within a few feet of the doors Isis suddenly stopped, a look of shock on her face. "Someone inside is using a great magic I have never witnessed before," she said.

"Into the library!" Seto commanded the guards. They tried to open the doors, but they were locked. So the guards had to spend several minutes breaking the doors down. Seto was the first one through when the doors finally popped open.

The library was filled with a light so white and blinding Seto almost fell to his knees. There was also a strange wind that was pulling at his clothes. Fighting at his instincts, which were screaming at him to go back, Seto took careful steps forward, keeping his arms over his face to shield his eyes. He couldn't see how the guards or Isis were faring at the moment.

As Seto took more measured steps, he realized he was beginning to hear something. It sounded like someone crying. And not just simple crying over an injury, but a loud, raucous sobbing, as if all of their limbs had been torn off. Seto forced himself to continue, hoping the crying wasn't over his cousin.

"It's mine! It's mine!" a voice yelled, and the crying resumed. Only it didn't sound like crying now. As Seto got closer, he realized that it wasn't loud crying but loud laughter. Someone laughing very loudly and rather evilly.

Suddenly Seto burst through what felt like an invisible wall. It was still bright, but he could see enough. He saw an advisor, his head back, laughing maniacally. He saw an open book in the man's hands. But the most important thing he saw was the Pharaoh, Atemu, his cousin, standing stock-still, seemingly fading away.

Atemu turned and saw him, and Seto could see the fear in his eyes. Atemu seemed to shout something, but his voice was gone. Seto ran forward and tried to grab him, to pull him out of the way, anything, but his hand went right through Atemu's arm.

Then, suddenly, Atemu was gone. The light faded, the wind diminished, and the now doomed advisor was still laughing as though he'd heard the funniest joke in the world.

"Arrest him!" Seto roared, and the guards quickly ganged up on the still-laughing advisor and dragged him away. Seto knelt down and picked up the book the man had dropped, and it was as he had feared.

It was The Book.

"High Priest!" Isis hurried up to him, looking worried. Her worry changed to dread when she saw The Book. "He is in there, isn't he," she said, but it was more of a statement than a question.

Seto nodded gravely. "Yes, he is." With the last of his strength he closed the book, failing to see the red words at the back.

* * *

Taku: Why did you have to do that?  
KT: Do what?  
Taku: Make them think you were going to dissolve the cliffhanger, and then _not_ dissolve the cliffhanger.  
KT: Oh. It's all part of my plan, Tak-kun.  
Taku: (eye twitches)  
Juni: See you all next time. 


	10. Please pray for me

I am sorry to say I'm discontinuing the story. For now, anyway.  
Why, you ask? Well.  
As much as it pains me to revisit this, my darling, beautiful baby Andi is gone. I DON'T want to revisit the cause of her death, but the doctor said she died instantly, so she didn't feel pain. I'm glad she's in heaven now, but I am way too sad to be writing an angsty story right now.  
If I can, I'll try to start it up again later. Please, have patience with me.

Maruka Gomez, former mother 


	11. The Last Two Lines

KT: First, I'd like to thank everyone who offered their condolences and prayers for my baby. I miss her with all my heart, but I had a friend who gave me a lot of comfort by showing to me that my daughter is in heaven. Second, I realize I kind of left you all at a cliffhanger. I appreciate that you all said I didn't have to worry about the story, but now that I'm recovering, I've decided to finish the story in order to show my appreciation for your support. My humor account with my three friends will not be happening, and I probably won't write any more stories after this, but I will finish this one, and my sister will be finishing some of our stories we had together on her account. Again, thank you everyone.

* * *

10: The Final Two Lines

* * *

And at the cost of one

Shall the other go on...

* * *

Once again, Tristan drove. It was fortunate for Joey and Tea that he had been passing by in his car. Only this time, he had an extra passenger.

It turned out that they ended up taking Yugi to the same hospital he had been taken to when he and his family got into the car accident. Tea had to fight down the unpleasant memories as she waited outside the room with Joey and Tristan.

"I can't believe we're in da same hospital in da same month," Joey sighed as he rested his chin in his hands.

Neither Tea nor Tristan responded. Joey wasn't expecting an answer anyway. They only hoped the doctor would show up soon with good news.

Tea suddenly stood. "There's Yugi's grandpa and Atemu!" she said.

The other two turned and saw Solomon and Atemu coming down the hall. Atemu had Yugi's book with him.

"What happened?" Solomon demanded as soon as they were within hearing range.

"We were walking Yugi home from school," Tea said, her eyes threatening to fill with tears, "and he said he didn't feel well. He started spacing out, and then--and then--" She appeared unable to continue.

"Then he jus' passed out," Joey finished grimly. "Like nothin' I've ever seen. I caught 'im before he landed on da ground."

Solomon looked distressed. "What could have happened to him?" he wondered aloud.

Atemu looked away, holding the book close to his chest.

The door they were waiting in front of opened. Joey and Tea sprang to their feet and joined the others as the doctor came through the door and closed it behind her.

"How is he?" Solomon asked, speaking the question on everyone's mind.

The doctor looked at a clipboard and ran a hand through her hair. "We can't precisely figure out what caused him to fall unconscious. It seems that something momentarily halted messages from the brain, causing him to temporarily lose control of motor functions. However, this is merely a theory based on the results of our tests. We don't know for certain."

"But is he okay?" Tea pressed.

The doctor sighed, as if not wanting to answer. "He's awake right now, but an unidentifiable problem is weakening his body. It's as if he has a disease, but it's nothing I've ever seen in twenty-one years of work."

"Can we see 'im?" Joey asked.

The doctor nodded. "But keep your voices down; he has a headache." She stepped to the side, and they all crowded into the room.

Yugi was lying on the hospital bed with bandages wrapped around his forehead and wrist. He had an IV in his left hand, and a heart monitor with probes attached to his chest. He had been staring at the ceiling, but once they all arrived, he looked over and offered them a weak smile. "Hi, guys."

Everyone's eyes started filling with tears. "Oh, _Yugi_..." Tea breathed. They all rushed to the bed and crowded around.

"How are you?" Solomon asked.

"I'm fine," Yugi assured them. "It's nothing, really. The doctors said I'll probably be out of here by tonight."

The others breathed a sigh of relief. Except Atemu.

"Are ya sure you're okay?" Joey asked worriedly.

"Oh, yeah," Yugi assured him.

They stayed in the room as long as they could, until the doctors threw them out so they could run more tests. Then they hung out in the hall, waiting for a chance to see Yugi again.

* * *

Joey was the first one to leave. His mother called him and demanded to know why he had broken curfew. He explained to her, but she still said he had to come home. So he and Tristan left, since Tristan was the only one with a car, and Tristan returned about an hour later.

The next to leave was Tea. Her older sister called and said there was a family emergency. She came to pick Tea up at the hospital. Both Joey and Tea asked to be called if there were any developments.

Finally, Tristan had to leave. He didn't want to leave Solomon and Atemu without transportation, however, so he left them his car keys and told them he'd catch the bus.

* * *

The time went by slowly. Solomon and Atemu didn't talk. They simply waited for news about Yugi. But the reports were encouraging. It seemed Yugi was recovering from whatever had affected him.

"I guess we'll be heading home soon," Solomon commented at 1:11 AM.

Atemu didn't reply. Solomon glanced at him and noticed that he was reading some red words at the back of Yugi's book. Solomon wondered what they could say that had Atemu so upset.

A nurse came by to do a routine check on Yugi. She entered the room, and came out a few minutes later.

"Is he all right?" Solomon asked her.

The nurse smiled. "He'll be fine. He's just resting. We've already taken out the IV, so after a little more rest, he should be able to go home."

Solomon sighed in relief. "That's good. Do they have any idea what happened, and if it will happen again?"

"We still aren't certain. We're guessing it was a freak accident that isn't likely to occur again," the nurse explained.

Solomon nodded. Beside him, he heard Atemu sigh.

* * *

Atemu read the words over and over. He just knew that this was what the book meant. And if that was the case, then Yugi was still in danger. But what could he do? How could he save Yugi?

_There's no way, _he thought. _The book clearly states that one of us is the cost for the other to live. If one of us lives, then the other must die. _Atemu mulled over that for a moment.

The chairs that they were sitting in were near the nurses' station. So both Solomon and Atemu looked up in surprise when a shrill beeping noise came from the station. The nurse looked up in alarm at the wall. A column of red lights led down, each one beside a small plastic plaque with a three digit number on each of them. One of the lights was flashing. The nurse checked to see which light it was, then jumped from her seat and paged a doctor.

Atemu leaned over to see which light it was. His eyes traveled down until they found the light, and then he looked over to see what number it was. _Wait..._ His eyes zoomed back to Yugi's door. Then he looked back at the number.

The number on Yugi's door and the number next to the flashing light on the wall were the same.

"It's Yugi!" Atemu exclaimed, realizing it must be some alarm. Solomon jumped to his feet at his words. The nurse from the station was already running towards them, carrying a syringe.

"What's going on?" Solomon demanded.

"Something has upset Yugi's heart," the nurse said as she threw open the door. She raced inside, and Atemu and Solomon followed.

Yugi was still lying in bed. To an uninformed person, it would look like he was asleep, but the heart monitor's alarm was going like crazy. The nurse ran over and checked the heart monitor machine.

"What could be happening?" Solomon exclaimed, wringing his hands. "I thought he was getting better?"

Atemu looked down at the red words at the back of the book. His last thought came back to him. _If one of us lives, then the other must die... _He looked up at Yugi.

"I already paged the doctor," the nurse said as she checked Yugi's pulse. "He should be here soon. Oh my, his heart is racing." She seemed to be undecided on whether or not to use the syringe.

Atemu snapped the book shut and wrapped his arms around it. The book felt cold, very cold. He watched as Solomon fretted, and the nurse paged the doctor again using the phone in the room. The heart monitor's alarm was beeping faster and faster, and it was obvious that somebody was going to start panicking in the next few minutes. It was either going to be Solomon or the nurse.

_Then there's only one possible option. _

Atemu slowly walked over to Yugi's bed, battling the fear inside him. Nobody seemed to notice or care as he sat down next to Yugi's bedside, opened the book, and placed Yugi's hand on top of it. He placed his own hand on top of Yugi's, and closed his eyes.

Underneath the red words, more slowly appeared, as if they were being written by an unseen pen. Atemu didn't even see them, but he automatically spoke the words, exactly the way he had heard his mother say them, so many years ago.

If you've nothing left to lose

Decide which path that you shall choose

If one must go and the other stay

Decide which fate will be your way

* * *

Light flashed from the room. Seto and Atemu shielded their eyes in alarm. When the light faded, they peeked through the crack again.

Atemu's father had just been lying in the bed, with Atemu's mother staying faithfully by his side. Now she was gone, as if she had never been there, and his father was sitting up, looking healthier than he had in days. He looked worried, and when the saw the book, flipped over on his lap, he knew what had happened.

It was the only time the four-year-old had seen his father cry.

* * *

"Yugi?"

Yugi cracked open his eyes. He felt kind of funny, like someone had just slathered him in Novocain. He couldn't feel any of his limbs. "Who's there?" he called out, hearing his voice strangely echo. He opened his eyes fully. "Where am I?"

It was as if he were in outer space, only with no planets or stars or anything. He appeared to be surrounded by bluish-purple fog, which was very dark. There was a light coming from somewhere, but he didn't know where, and it was so dim he could make out anything. He seemed to be floating, and he tried to wiggle his fingers, his toes, anything. But nothing happened.

"Yugi." There was the voice again. Suddenly Yugi noticed a bright light in his peripheral vision, and he turned to see Atemu, the source of the light, coming towards him.

"Atemu? What's going on?" Yugi asked. He squinted. Atemu seemed to be getting brighter by the minute. His light dwarfed the dim light that had been there before. Yugi raised an arm to shield his eyes when he finally figured out that the dim light was coming from _him_.

Atemu looked sad when he saw the dimness. "Yugi, you don't have much time."

"What do you mean?" Yugi asked.

"The last two lines in the book--the ones we couldn't figure. Remember? What they meant was that one of us has to die for the other to live."

"What?!" Yugi exclaimed. "But--but--"

"And right now _you're _the one who's dying," Atemu told him.

Yugi froze. Him? He was dying? He looked down at himself, at the dim light emanating from him, that was getting dimmer, and dimmer, and dimmer. He looked up at Atemu, who was getting brighter and brighter.

"That's right," Atemu said, seeming to read his mind. "The light symbolizes our lives. Mine is getting brighter because it's sucking yours away. Once yours is gone, you'll cease to exist."

Yugi hugged himself, as if to stop the dimming. "W-What do I do?" he cried.

"There is nothing you can do," Atemu said. "The only way you can live is if I willingly give up my life to save yours."

"What...? But...no!" Yugi cried. "You can't do that!"

Atemu nodded. "I can, and I will. I've already lived my life, Yugi. I should be millennia dead by now. You belong in this time, and you should stay."

"But..." Tears had begun to fill Yugi's eyes. "What will I do without you? You're my best friend."

"You have new friends now," Atemu assured him. "Tea, and Joey, and even Tristan. They'll be there for you when I'm not."

"I don't want you to go!" Yugi cried, the tears breaking and sliding down his dimly glowing cheeks. "You were the one who was there when no one else was! You listened to me, you helped me, I-I told you things I never even told my parents! Nobody can replace you!"

Atemu's eyes were shining with tears now. "I don't have a choice," he said softly. "It's either me, or you, and I choose you." He stepped forward and wrapped Yugi in a hug.

Yugi burst into tears as he buried his face in Atemu's chest. He could still remember the first day he had met Atemu. He had been hoping he was hallucinating. At that point, he didn't realize that what he hoped was him going crazy would be the best thing that ever happened to him. And now he couldn't bear to lose Atemu again.

His mind whirled back to the time when they had had the fear of Atemu ceasing to exist, once they used up all the pages. Then, he had thought, was the worst time of his life. But no. This was a thousand times worse. This time there was no poem to solve to make everything better.

Atemu was _leaving _him. _Forever_.

Yugi could feel Atemu shaking and realized the older boy was crying too. That just made him cry harder. _I don't care if I'm friends with every single person on the planet, _Yugi thought. _There is _no_ way I could replace you. _

**I-I feel the same way. **

Yugi was surprised to hear Atemu's voice in his head. He was afraid to look up and find out it was all a dream or something. But there was Atemu's voice, loud and clear.

Suddenly, the ground seemed to disappear from under their feet. They fell. Yugi didn't dare look, but instead kept himself as close to Atemu as he could. Atemu didn't let go either. Neither one had any idea where they were falling to, and they didn't care. They were savoring their last moments together.

The air rushed past them as they fell. Yugi's tears were dried up by the wind, but his pain was still as prominent as ever. Then they seemed to slow. The wind stopped rushing, and Yugi felt his bare feet touch ground. It was some very unsteady ground; in fact, it felt like sand.

Yugi realized that he couldn't stay this way forever. He had to give Atemu a proper goodbye. He unpeeled his face from Atemu's chest, and squinted when a flash of gold shone in his eye.

"Yugi...are you all right?"

Yugi nodded, trying to squint his way around the brightly shining gold. "Wh-what happened?" he asked, his voice raw from crying.

"I don't know." The gold moved, and Yugi was able to open his eyes. When he did, he gasped. "Atemu!"

Atemu looked back at him. "What?" Practically half his face was covered in gold jewelry.

"You--you..." Yugi was at a loss for words. He rubbed his dry eyes, trying to figure out what had happened, and heard Atemu draw in a breath, as if he were about to scream.

"How did we..." Atemu sounded astonished. Yugi opened his eyes and finally looked at his surroundings for the first time.

They weren't on the street anymore. In fact, it looked as if they'd taken a flight to the desert. There was a sea of sand as far as Yugi could see. He looked back at Atemu and realized with a start that the latter was wearing his Ancient Egypt attire again. Every single piece he had had on when he appeared from the book, down to the gold crown and the matching earrings and armbands and bracelets and everything.

Yugi swallowed hard. "Where are we?" he asked.

"Home." The word fell from Atemu's mouth and dropped like a ton of bricks as Yugi stared at him and he stared out at the desert.

"Home? Y-you mean, like..._home_, Ancient Egypt home?" Yugi asked in disbelief.

"It's the only other home I know."

"But how did we get here? And why isn't one of us dead?" Yugi sputtered. "Are you trying to tell me that--"

"Pharaoh!" A unfamiliar call made them both jump, and they turned their heads in unison to see that they had been facing the wrong way the entire time. A grand palace stretched before them, surrounded by a stone wall. Coming from the palace were several people dressed as strangely as Atemu. One of them, the only female in the group, was carrying the book.

Yugi looked at Atemu and saw that he was as stunned as if someone had shot him. He started to speak, but he seemed to be speaking to himself. "Seto...Isis...I-I don't believe it."

"Pharaoh!" one of them, the guy with brown hair and blue eyes and a very odd hat, was yelling as he hurried towards them. "Pharaoh! Are you well?"

Atemu finally snapped out of his daze. "Yes, I'm well!" he called back.

"Atemu, who are they?" Yugi asked, a little hesitant about the strangers.

"They're..." Atemu let out a short laugh of disbelief. "That's Seto, my cousin and the High Priest. And Isis, and the captain of the guard, and..." He shook his head, seemingly unable to continue.

The group finally made it to where Yugi and Atemu were standing. On instinct, Yugi took a step behind Atemu. "We thought we may never see you again, Pharaoh," the woman, or Isis, said. "We are grateful that the spell worked."

"What spell?" Atemu asked. "How did you bring me back here?"

"We tried a recalling spell on the book in order to bring you out, but it didn't work the several times we tried," Seto explained. "We had finally given up when Isis suggested we try it one more time. I don't know it worked, but..." He reached out and put his hand on Atemu's shoulder, as if to check and see if he were real. "It seemed to have brought you back in one piece."

"I thought I'd never see my home again," Atemu said softly. "When I was with Yugi, I--oh!" He turned to beckon Yugi forward. "This is Yugi. He freed me from the book."

"Uh, hi," Yugi said, trying to avoid their eyes.

"Amazing," Isis explained, opening the book and flipping through its pages. "Somehow this book seems to be a link to the future. Perhaps when you were freed, that was how we were finally able to bring you back."

"I see." Atemu nodded. "But then, how did it bring Yugi here with me?"

"It's a very strong spell, capable of including anything in close proximity," Isis replied, still leafing through the pages.

Atemu and Yugi turned to look at each other. "Then...does that mean neither of us has to die?" Yugi asked.

Atemu let out a small laugh. "It seems we've thwarted the book yet again," he said.

Yugi felt tears filling his eyes as he smiled back.

* * *

KT: Okay, now that we're past the sad part, it should be pretty easy for me to finish. After this is the epilogue, and then we're done. 


	12. Epilogue

KT: I actually can't believe I'm sitting here crying like a baby while I'm writing this. It's simply that I am so touched by you guys' support. It kind of reminds me of this time I was writing a chapter of The Book with Andi in my lap, and she got her fingers all over the keys and input a stream of nonsense into a really dramatic part. It just made me laugh so hard. And then Andi started laughing, and I couldn't stop. Whenever I think of that, I want to laugh and cry at the same time.

Once again, thank you, _thank you,_ THANK YOU all for your tremendous support and concern. It really makes me feel better that you all are so concerned about me and my family. Now, before this A/N gets any longer, on to the epilogue.

* * *

Epilogue 

What is this?

It's a calendar. Remember how I told you about these? They help you keep track of the days.

Ohhh, right...Um, no.

Yugi bit his lip to keep himself from breaking into laughter. Sitting beside him, Atemu had a straight face, but the gleam in his eye betrayed the fact that he was trying not to laugh as well.

Okay, look. These are the seven days of the week. So far, this many days have passed since we were warped back to Ancient Egypt.

Warped...that's a funny word.

Focus! Now, how many days was it?

Seven. Do I look like a child?

Yugi felt a laugh escape through his nose and poked his cheek with his tongue. Atemu had a giant grin on his face now.

Seven days. And what do we call a period of seven days?

A week. You know, that's a funny word too.

You better cut it out.

Cut what out? Am I to presume you're speaking of my tongue? Because that's the only logical explanation I can come up with that would make your statement make sense. Should I get some skissors?

"The C in scissors is silent!" Yugi reprimanded.

Atemu shrugged, like he didn't care.

"What's the matter with you two?" Yugi and Atemu turned guiltily in their seats to face the High Priest. He had his usual scowl in place. "Don't tell me the two of you are having one of your 'personal conversations' again. You find that hilarious, don't you?" Seto said.

"Every time," Atemu replied.

It had been a week since Yugi and Atemu had found themselves in Ancient Egypt. Since then, they had tried to make some sense of what had happened. Somehow, they had wound up being able to speak to each other's minds. Not even Isis had the answer for that. But neither really cared. They were both just happy not to be separated from each other.

"They are like brothers," Isis remarked a few hours later, as she and Seto watched Yugi and Atemu hanging out in one of the indoor gardens.

Seto snorted. "Ever since that boy showed up, Atemu acts like a child," he said, obviously disapproving.

"It is not a crime for the pharaoh to enjoy himself," Isis pointed out. She gave Seto a sidelong glance. "I think, perhaps, you are worried that this boy has taken your place in Atemu's heart."

"Please!" Seto scoffed. "That's the _last_ thing I would worry about. I am Atemu's advisor; he's simply a foreigner that happened upon a way to free my cousin from that accursed book."

Isis took a look over at Yugi and Atemu, who were now sitting silently on one of the benches. Atemu suddenly snickered, and Yugi punched him in the arm before they both broke into laughter.

"I simply wonder how," Seto said, seemingly to himself.

"How what?" Isis asked.

Seto glanced at her quickly, then looked away. "How this...Yugi, managed to free Atemu, when I couldn't."

"Perhaps their bond had a hand in it," Isis mused. At Seto's sneer, she went on. "You know what they told us. Atemu was Yugi's confidante for a full year. Neither of them wanted to leave the other. They are truly kindred spirits."

"Well, that all may be," Seto said, "but sooner or later he'll want to go back where he came from. No doubt he has family and friends elsewhere. He'll want to leave. And when he cannot, what do you think is going to happen?"

"You are so pessimistic, High Priest," Isis said.

"_Some_body has to be," Seto shot back.

* * *

Atemu rolled over, trying to keep his eyes closed so he could go back to sleep. But it was too late. His senses had returned to his quarters. He sighed and opened his eyes. 

Someone was on the balcony. Atemu tensed, realizing it could spell danger. He slowly sat up and reached under his pillow for his hidden dagger as he climbed out of bed.

The figure moved, and Atemu used the opportunity to slip past the curtained entrance to the balcony. He looked out, straining to see through the darkness.

It was only Yugi, leaning over the railing and looking out into the night sky. Atemu breathed a sigh of relief as he walked over to stand next to Yugi. "Trouble sleeping?" he asked, noticing how Yugi jumped when he spoke.

"Oh! Atemu, hi," Yugi said, smiling.

"Is something wrong?" Atemu asked.

Yugi shook his head. "Oh, no, not at all..." He trailed off as he turned to look out at the sea of sand below him.

Atemu turned to see what was so fascinating. "I know you're lying," he said to the horizon.

Yugi sighed slowly. "Well, I didn't want to say anything, but..."

"What?" Atemu asked, turning to face Yugi.

Another sigh. "Well, I...I was kind of wondering about the others. You know, Grandpa, and Joey and Tea and Tristan. I mean, I'm glad I didn't lose you, but they were all worried about me when I was in the hospital. And now, I guess I just disappeared to them. What if they're worrying about me? Or what if my body's still there or something, and they think I died?"

Atemu could see how much this was distressing Yugi. He wished he had the answers. "Well, Yugi, I don't know." He looked out at the first streaks of sunlight for a moment, and then brightened as an idea came to him. "Perhaps The Book has some answers."

"You think so?" Yugi asked, looking eager.

"Anything's possible. We can look into it at sunup."

* * *

So, when morning arrived, Yugi and Atemu went to the room where The Book was being held. When they arrived, they found none other then Isis sitting at a table with The Book open, appearing to read something. 

"Isis?" Atemu said. Isis looked up. "Is something wrong? You look upset."

"Oh, I am not upset, My Pharaoh," Isis said. "I have simply come across something...unexplainable, perhaps."

Atemu raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"Come see here." Isis held up the book, and Atemu and Yugi came around the table to see what it was. "Some strange text has appeared in this book, but I cannot understand what it says."

Atemu peered at it. "Hmm. It looks familiar..."

Yugi gasped. "That's English!"

Both Atemu and Isis looked up at him. "English?" Isis repeated, sounding confused.

Yugi nodded. "That's the language I understand. Let me see." Isis handed him the book, and he read the words, almost afraid of what they might say.

_**Yugi? Where are you? Are you there?**_

Yugi could barely contain his excitement. "Do either of you have a pen?" he asked without looking up.

"There's one behind your ear," Atemu pointed out.

"Oh. Thanks." Yugi pulled the pen out from behind his ear and sat down at the table.

**This is Yugi. Who is this?**

The three waited, watching the book. After a few moments, a third line of text appeared under Yugi's.

**_Yugi! It's your grandfather. Where are you?_**

Yugi drew in a breath and covered his mouth with a hand. Atemu squinted at the text. "It's his grandfather," he translated for Isis. "He's asking where Yugi is."

With a slightly shaking hand, Yugi wrote out a reply.

**It's kind of hard to explain. I'm in Ancient Egypt with Atemu. Somehow we were transported back to his time. Is everybody okay?**

They waited, but they didn't have to wait long.

**_Thank goodness you're all right. And yes, we're all fine. Atemu was holding your hand when the two of you suddenly vanished in a flash of light. The nurse, of course, was confused beyond measure, but I had a feeling it had something to do with your book. So I took the book and opened it up, and someone had written "Write" on the top page, and all the other pages were suddenly blank. So, I tried writing to you, in the hopes that I would reach you. It's been a few days, though, and I had almost given up._**

"I-I don't believe this," Yugi said, sounding amazed and upset at the same time.

"Somehow the book is here and in your time at the same time," Atemu stated. "But how?"

"There are many things that cannot be explained," Isis reminded them.

"Well, this definitely falls under that category," Atemu commented. He watched as Yugi continued to write in the book. Yugi was smiling, but his eyes were filling with tears.

* * *

"Yugi?" 

Yugi's head snapped up, and he saw that Atemu had come back. Yugi suddenly seemed to realize how far down the sun had gone. "Ohhh," he said, the word drawn out with a yawn at the end. "What time is it?"

"Almost sundown," Atemu replied. "I came to see how you were. Are you still talking to your grandfather?"

Yugi nodded. "He says that everybody's okay, they were all just wondering what had happened to us. Tomorrow he says he'll invite Joey and Tea and Tristan over so they can all talk to me." He looked sleepy, but there was still a brightness in his eyes that Atemu hadn't seen in a while. Atemu found himself smiling rather sadly.

"So..." Atemu said as he walked over and sat next to Yugi at the table, "it would appear that this book will always hold the words of someone dear to you."

"I guess so," Yugi said. "I'm just so glad that I'm able to talk to Grandpa." His face changed. "I was happy to not have to lose you, but to lose everyone else at the same time..."

Atemu swallowed, not missing the look in Yugi's eyes. "Well, at least you don't have to worry about that anymore," he said, trying to smile.

"I just wish I could see them all again," Yugi sighed as he wrote a farewell to his grandfather in the book. "I mean, it's great that I can contact them at all, but only being able to talk like this...well, it stinks. I want to _see_ them."

Atemu stood up abruptly, feeling sick. He turned and started for the door. Behind him, he heard Yugi say "Atemu?" in surprise, but he didn't look back as he walked out the door. He kept walking, without looking until he had reached a balcony. Then he rested his arms on the guardrail and sighed.

"Something on your mind?"

Atemu looked up to see his cousin was on the balcony as well. "No," Atemu said, then he quickly corrected. "Well..."

Seto glanced at him. "Let me guess. It has something to do with the boy and the book."

Atemu was suddenly too worn to correct Seto on his constantly calling Yugi "the boy". "Well, I just..." Atemu sighed. "I'm glad he's able to speak with his loved ones again. But now he's talking about how he wishes he could see them again, how communicating through the book isn't enough. It makes me wonder if it was a mistake bringing him here."

"Didn't you know he'd want to go back eventually?" Seto commented. "I could tell from the first day. You can't expect him to just adapt to life here, and completely forget what he's left behind. That's selfish of you."

"I know it is!" Atemu exclaimed, glaring at the sinking sun. "But...I was willing to sacrifice myself, my whole existence, to help him. And I would gladly do it again."

"Perhaps he's not as close to you as you are to him," Seto said.

There was silence as Atemu considered the option.

"You should just ask him whether or not he'd want to stay here," Seto suggested.

"What if he decides not?" Atemu asked, scowling.

Seto gave a slight shrug. "You and he got here somehow. We could find some way to send him back."

* * *

That night, Atemu lay awake, thinking about what Seto had said. He glanced at the door that led to the room where Yugi was sleeping. 

_"It stinks,"_ Yugi's voice echoed in his head. Atemu sighed and turned over.

* * *

**I don't know what it is, Grandpa. Suddenly Atemu doesn't seem to want to talk to me much. He doesn't look at me much either. I don't know if it's something I said or what.**

_**Have you asked him? **_

**Well...no. I've kind of been a little hesitant to.**

_**Why is that, Yugi? **_

**I don't know. I guess I'm hoping he'll bring it up first.**

There was a pause. Yugi waited, tapping the nonbusiness end of his pen against his chin.

**_Yugi? It's Tea. Listen, Atemu probably won't tell you what's bothering him. That's how guys are! _**

**And what am I? A girl?**

**_Well, you know what I mean. I suggest you simply ask him what his problem is an _**

**_Yug? Joey. DON'T DO THAT!!! Prying into other people's affairs is a big no, little buddy! Just let him get over it himse_**

**_Yugi! Tea again. Don't listen to Joey. He doesn't know what he's talking about. Confront him gently_**

**_Joey here. And I say DON'T DO IT!!_**

**_FOLLOW YOUR HEART, YUGI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!_**

**_...That was Tristan. He saw three straight chick flicks with his new girlfriend._**

Yugi couldn't help but laugh at his friends' written antics. He knew deep down they were all trying to help him. But he had already decided he was going to confront Atemu. He just had to work up the nerve.

* * *

"Atemu? Can we talk?" 

Atemu looked up and saw Yugi at the door. It was a week after Yugi had gotten his "advice" from his friends, and now he was going to get to the bottom of Atemu's problem, even if it killed him. "Of course," Atemu said, motioning for Yugi to come in.

Yugi walked in and shut the door by leaning on it. He sighed. "Atemu, listen. I know you've been avoiding me, and I just want to know--"

"Avoiding? That's silly, Yugi. Why would I avoid you?" Atemu said.

"Well, for one, we haven't spoken to each other's minds in almost two weeks," Yugi pointed out.

Atemu looked down and shrugged. "There's no law that says we must do that on a regular basis."

"Please, just tell me what I did!" Yugi practically begged, causing Atemu to look up in surprise. "If I said something that offended you or anything like that, I'm sorry! I'm just tired of you not talking to me!" Yugi felt as though he was going to cry and tried to hold it back. "I feel like you're trying to cut me off."

Atemu looked back down and sighed. Then, he slowly stood up. "I'm not trying to cut you off," he said slowly, sounding resigned. "I'm just preparing...for..."

"For what?" Yugi demanded.

"Do you want to stay here?" Atemu asked suddenly, looking Yugi directly in the eyes for the first time all day.

Yugi was surprised. "What? Of course I want to stay."

"I'm serious, Yugi," Atemu said, sounding every bit serious. "I really want you to think about that. _Do you want to stay_?"

Yugi opened his mouth to reconfirm it, but then he paused. _Atemu said think about it. _So he thought. He enjoyed the change in scenery, and it was wonderful having Atemu around. But, if he was completely honest with himself, he missed his own time. He missed Grandpa, and his room. He missed Tea, Joey, and Tristan. He missed his parents, though he knew he wouldn't see them again anyway.

"You want to go home," Atemu said quietly. "You just didn't want to hurt my feelings."

"No, I-I..." Yugi trailed off, realizing his cracking voice was terribly unconvincing. He looked down at his feet.

"Just say it," Atemu said, sounding so sad that Yugi was sure he was going to cry.

Yugi swallowed, and finally admitted it to himself and to Atemu. "I...want to go...home."

"There." Yugi looked up and saw Atemu smiling, but his eyes were strangely shiny. "That wasn't so hard, was it?"

"Atemu, I wouldn't just leave you," Yugi started.

Atemu held up a hand. "It's not about me," he said. "It's about what's supposed to be. You and I both know you don't really belong here, just like I didn't belong in your time. Us meeting was a freak twist of nature that was never supposed to happen."

"But I'm glad it did!" Yugi exclaimed. "I wouldn't have changed a thing."

"Neither would I," Atemu said. Then he seemed to consider. "Well, perhaps one thing. If I could have I would have kept your parents from dying."

Yugi felt a catch in his throat and swallowed hard to push it down. "But," he finally managed to say in as steady a voice as he could muster, "there is no way for me to go home anyway. It was pure chance that we got here, remember? I-I can't go back."

"We both know that's not true," Atemu said.

As if on cue, they both looked down at The Book, still open on the table.

* * *

"This could end up several different ways, Atemu," Isis warned. "We may not achieve the goal we desire." 

"Yes we will," Atemu said firmly.

Isis sighed as she held the book in her hands. "Before we begin, do the two of you wish to say anything to one another?"

Yugi and Atemu looked at each other. Both seemed to be struggling to hold in tears. "I'm gonna miss you," Yugi said. "This time, I won't even have the book."

"But you can still remember me," Atemu reminded him. "Just like I'll remember you."

Yugi blinked rapidly and smiled. "You know...maybe we'll actually meet each other again someday," he said.

"That would be nice," Atemu said. He smiled. "Maybe you'll become an archaeologist and dig up my bones."

"Ew," Yugi commented, making a face.

Atemu laughed. "Just kindling."

"_Kidding_," Yugi corrected.

Atemu smiled a sunny smile that made him suspiciously look more like Yugi. "Ah, yes. I'll remember that."

Isis smiled. "Are we ready?"

Yugi and Atemu turned to her and nodded. "Let's do it," Yugi said.

Isis nodded and opened the book to the back. She placed one hand over the red words and closed her eyes. Underneath her fingers, the red words slowly began to glow. The red light peeked through her fingers. Atemu and Yugi watched.

The light grew brighter and brighter. Isis waited until it was nearly blinding to take her hand off. White light tinged in red filled the area, and wind rushed around. Atemu and Yugi had to shield their eyes. Then, as instructed, Isis flipped to the first page, gripped it firmly in her hand, and then tore it from the spine.

Both Yugi and Atemu flinched. Isis got hold of the second page and ripped it out like the first. As she moved from page to page, she tore faster and more cleanly. The pages fluttered to the ground at their feet, the words on them now glowing themselves.

Isis was nearing the back of the book. Instinctively, Yugi and Atemu reached out, without seeing, and clasped one another's hands. They could sense as Isis got close to the end. Five pages left. Four pages. Three. Two.

"A-Atemu, this is goodbye," Yugi said.

Atemu gripped Yugi's hand tighter. "For now," he said.

Isis pulled the final page from the book and let it drop. Then she took the book, now empty of pages, and held it out, inside facing Yugi. He began to glow as well, until he had completely melded with the light. Atemu felt the exact moment when Yugi's hand disappeared, and he squeezed the empty air, almost wishing it would return.

Almost, but not quite.

Isis slapped the pageless book shut. The wind faded, the glow diminished. When the two could see again, the ground was littered in pages from the book, and Yugi was gone.

Atemu swallowed as he looked over at Ishizu. "It was...?"

"It was successful," Isis assured him. "He'll be back in his own time and place, where he belongs."

Atemu nodded, relieved. _Now we're both back where we belong. _He looked up at the sky, as if expecting to see Yugi shooting into space like a star.

The funny thing was, at the exact same time, a mere five thousand years later, as his grandfather and friends looked up in shock, Yugi was doing the exact same thing.

* * *

The end.  
Again, thank you everybody, and be blessed.  
--M. T. Gomez 


End file.
